Psilocybin law in Mexico
Illegal but tolerated in practice Checked 11 October 2026
Psilocybin and hallucinogenic mushrooms of any botanical variety are group I psychotropics under Mexico's Ley General de Salud, and the Supreme Court refused a personal-use amparo in November 2024. The only carve-out is for possession for the ceremonies of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities, which does not cover retreats for visitors, yet retreats advertise openly and we found no reported prosecution of a psilocybin retreat. Mexican prosecutors have charged ayahuasca ceremony leaders under the same schedule, so the prohibition is enforced against some ceremonial facilitators; we list Mexican psilocybin retreats as illegal but tolerated in practice, which can change without notice.
Psilocybin is illegal under national law, but retreats operate openly and a dated search found no reported prosecution of one. A summary of published sources, not legal advice.
What the sources say
- Ley General de Salud article 245 classifies psychotropics in five groups. Group I covers substances with "valor terapeutico escaso o nulo" that are "susceptibles de uso indebido o abuso", and lists psilocybin with "hongos alucinantes de cualquier variedad botanica, en especial las especies Psilocybe mexicana, Stopharia cubensis y Conocybe, y sus principios activos", as well as psilocin. [Ley General de Salud (texto vigente, ultima reforma DOF 15-01-2026), Camara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Union, 2026-01-15, read 4 October 2026]
- Codigo Penal Federal article 193 makes conduct involving the psychotropics in LGS article 245 fractions I, II and III punishable as offences against health. Psilocybin does not appear in the LGS article 479 table of maximum personal-use doses, so the article 478 non-prosecution rule for small personal amounts does not set any threshold for it. [Codigo Penal Federal (texto vigente, ultima reforma DOF 13-03-2026), Camara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Union, 2026-03-13, read 4 October 2026] [Ley General de Salud (texto vigente, ultima reforma DOF 15-01-2026), Camara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Union, 2026-01-15, read 4 October 2026]
- The only mushroom-specific exception is Codigo Penal Federal article 195 bis, fraction II (as reformed DOF 1 April 2024): the federal Public Prosecutor will not prosecute possession of "peyote u hongos alucinogenos, cuando por la cantidad y circunstancias del caso pueda presumirse que seran utilizados en las ceremonias, usos y costumbres de los pueblos y comunidades indigenas y afromexicanas, asi reconocidos por sus autoridades propias." It is a non-prosecution rule for possession tied to Indigenous and Afro-Mexican community ceremonies. It does not authorise supply, and it does not cover retreats run for visitors, although some retreat sites claim otherwise. [Codigo Penal Federal (texto vigente, ultima reforma DOF 13-03-2026), Camara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Union, 2026-03-13, read 4 October 2026]
- Mazatec healers in Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca, the town that Maria Sabina made known in the mid-20th century, still hold mushroom ceremonies. AFP (October 2024) quotes the family of curandera Julieta Casimiro saying they use the mushrooms as medicine "not to get high", and reports that local healers discourage psychedelic tourism and screen who they will hold ceremonies for. [Mexico magico: la cuna de los hongos alucinogenos rechaza el turismo psicodelico, Proceso (AFP), 2024-10-12, read 4 October 2026]
- On 13 November 2024 the First Chamber of the Supreme Court (Amparo en Revision 179/2024, ponente Ministra Loretta Ortiz Ahlf, unanimous four votes) upheld the denial of an amparo. The applicant wanted health authorisation for all activities linked to personal recreational use of psilocybin, which COFEPRIS had refused in an official letter of 23 January 2023. The Court ruled that LGS articles 245 fraction I, 247 last paragraph, 248 and 249 are constitutional. Press coverage reports this as the first such psilocybin amparo the Court decided. [Amparo en Revision 179/2024 (sentencia, Primera Sala), Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion, 2024-11-13, read 4 October 2026] [Rechaza SCJN primer amparo para uso ludico de hongos alucinogenos, Milenio, 2024-11-13, read 11 October 2026]
- In October 2023, Senator Alejandra Lagunes (PVEM) presented an initiative to reform the Ley General de Salud, the Codigo Penal Federal and other laws so that psilocybin mushrooms could be researched and used therapeutically, with Indigenous peoples taking part. It has not been enacted: the LGS in force (last reformed 15 January 2026) still lists psilocybin in article 245 group I. [Mexico debating the decriminalization of psilocybin mushrooms, ICEERS, 2023-11-13, read 4 October 2026] [Se presenta iniciativa de ley para despenalizar los hongos con psilocibina para su uso terapeutico, incluyendo la vision de los pueblos indigenas, Foro Juridico, 2023-11-02, read 4 October 2026] [Ley General de Salud (texto vigente, ultima reforma DOF 15-01-2026), Camara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Union, 2026-01-15, read 4 October 2026]
- Retreat Guru's Mexico psilocybin page, read on 2026-10-04, showed 98+ psilocybin retreats from roughly 40 centres, mostly in Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Valle de Bravo, Cancun and the Puerto Vallarta area. Operators' own sites publish dates and prices for Mexican psilocybin retreats, for example Eleusinia (Valle de Bravo, 2026 and 2027 dates), The Buena Vida (Sayulita, October and December 2026 dates) and Compassion Retreats (near Tulum). [Psilocybin Retreats in Mexico, Retreat Guru, read 4 October 2026] [Eleusinia Psilo Retreat - Sign up, Eleusinia, read 4 October 2026] [The Buena Vida - Locations, The Buena Vida, read 4 October 2026] [Compassion Retreats - Pricing, Compassion Retreats, read 4 October 2026]
Retreats in Mexico, with the law on each profile.
Dated changes
- 13 November 2024: The First Chamber of the Supreme Court (Amparo en Revision 179/2024, unanimous) denied an amparo seeking authorisation for personal recreational use of psilocybin and held the Ley General de Salud provisions that prohibit it (arts. 245 fr. I, 247, 248 and 249) constitutional. Source
- 1 April 2024: Article 195 bis fraction II of the Federal Penal Code was reformed. The text in force bars federal prosecution for possession of peyote or hallucinogenic mushrooms for the ceremonies of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities recognised by their own authorities. It does not authorise supply or retreats for visitors. Source
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