Legal framework
Entheogens and the law: what the rules say in Spain and in other countries, and how we work as a Federation.
International framework
It is the substances that are controlled, not the plants or fungi
The 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances lists in its Schedule I several active compounds found in entheogenic plants and fungi, such as DMT (ayahuasca), psilocybin and psilocin (mushrooms) or mescaline (some cacti). However, the Convention does not include the plants or fungi that contain them, nor traditional preparations such as ayahuasca.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has stated that these plants and their preparations are not under international control. From there, each country decides how to interpret this, which is why very different models coexist: from cultural and religious recognition to criminal prosecution.
Spain
Neither prohibited nor regulated: legal uncertainty
In Spain there is no law regulating the traditional, religious or therapeutic use of entheogens. Ayahuasca, as a plant preparation, is not prohibited, but nor is it regulated: it does not appear on any list of controlled substances, national or international, but there is no law expressly authorising its use either.
Its active compounds, however, are controlled. The Spanish Criminal Code (article 368) punishes the cultivation, manufacture and trafficking of controlled substances, and the promotion or facilitation of their illegal consumption. This is why the situation is one of legal uncertainty: it depends on how each case is interpreted.
In practice, most court proceedings involving ayahuasca in Spain have ended in acquittal or dismissal (see Cases in Spain). The most sensitive cases tend to involve importing or shipping the brew or its plants, which can lead to seizures at customs.
In 2004 the Ministry of Health banned the sale of plants such as ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, San Pedro and iboga (Orden SCO/190/2004), but the Audiencia Nacional annulled the order in 2005 because of a procedural defect.
Cases in Spain
What the courts have said
This is a compilation of public court decisions on entheogens in Spain, most of which can be consulted in the official search engine of the General Council of the Judiciary (CENDOJ). It is not exhaustive and does not include the names of individuals.
- The vast majority of ayahuasca cases end in acquittal or dismissal. The courts repeatedly state that the plant preparation is not controlled as such and that the prosecution must prove it was intended for trafficking. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the merits.
- Acquittal does not mean there are no consequences. There have been arrests, months of pre-trial detention, searches and confiscations before each acquittal.
- The risks are concentrated in importing by post, selling, advertising "cures" and harm to health. When someone dies or is injured, people can be held liable for negligent homicide or negligent injury.
Ayahuasca: acquittals and dismissals
The first case dismissed: the Santo Daime Church
Two members of the Santo Daime Church were arrested at Barajas airport and spent about two months in pre-trial detention. On the basis of reports from the National Institute of Toxicology, the Medicines Agency and the Ministry of Health, the court dismissed the case. Source: Plantaforma report (2014).
Acquittal: oral DMT requires much higher doses
Ayahuasca preparations from Ecuador. The court accepts that DMT is controlled but, drawing on the toxicology report from the Santo Daime case, concludes that it was intended for personal use.
Acquittal: sacramental use in a closed group
Ayahuasca sent for the sacramental use of Santo Daime members in Barcelona and Girona, at closed gatherings and without payment. The 2010 INCB report, according to which ayahuasca is not controlled, was submitted in evidence.
Acquittals: the decoction is not on the lists
In several cases of shipments by post, the court reasoned for the first time that the preparation is not on the international lists and that only DMT as a substance is, so the conduct is not a criminal offence.
A shop acquitted, but with confiscation
The owner of an esoteric shop had ayahuasca for sale. The court finds an error that rules out criminal intent and acquits her, but confiscates the ayahuasca. Selling remains a high-risk practice.
Acquittal of a member of the União do Vegetal
The defence and the Public Prosecutor agreed that the INCB had confirmed to the Spanish authorities that the decoction was not controlled.
"Ayahuasca as such, as a plant preparation, is not subject to control"
11.6 kg of ayahuasca brought from Brazil for a private gathering of a closed group. The judgment records as a proven fact that the preparation is not controlled either internationally or in Spain.
Acquittal after three months of pre-trial detention
A 5.7 kg parcel of ayahuasca from Peru for personal use, delivered under police surveillance. The preparation is not controlled. The acquittal came after months of pre-trial detention.
The highest-ranking decision: acquittal upheld
Customs Surveillance intercepted 1.7 kg of ayahuasca from Peru for personal use at Barajas airport. The Public Prosecutor appealed against the acquittal by the Madrid Provincial Court (SAP M 16318/2024). The High Court replies that it is not for the Institute of Toxicology to decide what is controlled and that the prosecution must prove it was intended for trafficking.
Acquittal involving ayahuasca, mescaline cacti and mushrooms
The Public Prosecutor sought four and a half years' imprisonment. The court doubts the actual toxicity: these are plant substances not controlled as such, the purity of the active compound was not established and the quantity was consistent with personal use.
The only known conviction for ayahuasca
Conviction by plea agreement
A 2.2 kg shipment of ayahuasca. The accused accepted the sentence agreed between the Public Prosecutor and the defence, without the court assessing whether the preparation is controlled.
Religious freedom and importation
The Santo Daime Church, a registered religious body
The Audiencia Nacional deemed its registration in the Register of Religious Entities to have been approved, and the Ministry of Justice formalised it that same year.
The União do Vegetal, also registered
The Audiencia Nacional overturned the refusal and ordered a União do Vegetal centre to be entered in the Register of Religious Entities.
Authorisation to import ayahuasca refused
The Santo Daime asked the Medicines Agency for permission to import ayahuasca for religious use. It was refused because of its DMT content, and the Audiencia Nacional upheld the refusal: religious freedom is not absolute, and public health and public order prevail. Registration does not confer a right to import.
Psilocybin mushrooms
Without knowing the species or the amount of psilocin, there is no offence
The psilocin content varies between species and between specimens. Unless it is determined, the mushrooms cannot be regarded as a substance capable of constituting the offence. Other Provincial Courts follow this doctrine.
Acquittal for shared consumption
Mushrooms, together with other substances, for consumption by a small group of people.
Acquittal with 202 g of mushrooms
Applies the Madrid criteria: it compares the quantified psilocybin with the minimum active dose and daily consumption.
Acquittal without identifying the species
24 g of mushrooms, with neither the species nor the amount of active compound identified.
Conviction by plea agreement at the border
63 g of mushrooms hidden in a car at the customs post on the border with Andorra. The accused accepted the sentence.
Cacti, 5-MeO-DMT and retreats
A "healing house" advertised online is still going to trial
At a property in Yecla, 304 San Pedro cacti and preparations containing mescaline and DMT were seized. The court dropped the charge of professional intrusion but kept the charge of an offence against public health: whether the plants are controlled will be decided at trial. Advertising ceremonies as healing exposes the organisers.
Retreats with ayahuasca, bufo and kambo under investigation
Retreats in the Maresme area, with dozens of shipments from the Americas. The court upheld the search and the report by the Medicines Agency. The case is still at the investigation stage.
Death at a 5-MeO-DMT ceremony: trial for negligent homicide
In 2019 a person died after inhaling the secretion of the toad Incilius alvarius at a ceremony in Enguera. The court reopened the case for homicide through gross negligence against the person leading the ritual, for setting the dose without calibrating it and failing to take precautions despite knowing its toxicity. The trial is scheduled for 2027. Source: CGPJ press release of 27/03/2024.
An informative compilation, updated in October 2026. Each case depends on its specific circumstances and case law may change: it does not replace legal advice.
Other countries
Some examples
Religious use recognised
The religious use of ayahuasca is recognised and regulated by the National Council on Drug Policy (CONAD, Resolution 1/2010), with principles such as no profit motive, no advertising and no commercialisation.
Cultural Heritage of the Nation
The traditional knowledge and uses of ayahuasca among Amazonian peoples were declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation.
Protection of religious use
In 2006, in the União do Vegetal case, the Supreme Court recognised the protection of the religious use of ayahuasca. In 2009 a federal court in Oregon also recognised the right of a Santo Daime church to import and use daime in its ceremonies (ruling). DMT remains prohibited at federal level: protection is granted case by case, under the religious freedom law (RFRA).
Regulated psilocybin services
The first regulated system of its kind: adults can take psilocybin without a medical diagnosis, always at a licensed centre and accompanied by a state-licensed facilitator. The law requires prior preparation with health screening, informed consent, a safety plan and subsequent follow-up, and publishes anonymised data on adverse effects. It is a commercial model: sessions can cost up to around $3,000 and about a third of the centres have closed.
From decriminalisation to HB 4002
Possession of small amounts of drugs was decriminalised in 2020 (Measure 110) and became a misdemeanour again from September 2024, with programmes for referral to treatment. The regulated psilocybin programme was not affected.
Natural medicine law
It decriminalises psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline (except peyote) for adults and, since 2025, authorises licensed centres which for now only offer psilocybin. Municipalities cannot ban them.
Medical psilocybin programme
The first law of its kind passed by a state legislature rather than by referendum: it creates a medical psilocybin programme for treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress, addiction and end of life, which must be up and running before the end of 2027.
Decriminalisation of possession for personal use
Portugal decriminalised the possession of drugs for personal use, which came to be treated as an administrative and health matter rather than a criminal one.
The safety criteria that Oregon requires by law (prior interview and screening, information on the risks, an emergency protocol and subsequent support) match those that the Federation's member organisations voluntarily adopt in their Code of Ethics. The difference lies in the model: FERM defends an associative, non-profit framework, with no sale of sessions.
Every legal system changes over time and depends on the specific context: for any activity outside Spain, it is advisable to find out the current situation in each country.
How we work as a Federation
Our commitment
We are committed to ethical, safe and responsible work with entheogens, guided by a shared Code of Ethics that is open to review. We do so with humility, knowing that there is still a long way to go and much to learn. Our aim, and our firm hope, is to be able to engage with institutions and society and to contribute to fair regulation that takes into account those of us who work with entheogens in a community-based and responsible way.
In the absence of regulation, the Red Micelio Federation is committed to a framework that brings clarity and responsibility. A legally registered non-profit association with explicit aims is the form that offers the greatest legal certainty for shared work with entheogens.
- Member organisations commit to the FERM Code of Ethics: no open sale of sessions, no commercialisation or advertising of ceremonies, a prior interview, information for participants and emergency protocols.
- We offer member organisations legal advice from specialised lawyers, and support in difficult situations such as legislative changes or crises.
- We defend Human Rights, especially freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, and advocate an end to policies based on prohibition and stigma.
- The Support Network assists, anonymously if preferred, people who have suffered inappropriate practices.
Further reading
Reference sources
Psicoactivos y enteógenos naturales al alcance de todos, al límite de la Ley. El consumo de ayahuasca en nuestro país
Article by Marcos Quinteiro López, a sub-inspector in the Spanish National Police. It concludes that ayahuasca is not a controlled substance in Spain. Summary by Plantaforma (in Spanish).
El régimen legal de la ayahuasca en España
A legal analysis of the situation in Spain (in Spanish). See also the legal information on Spain.
International Regulation of Ayahuasca Practices
How different countries regulate ayahuasca practices.
The Legal Status of Ancestral Medicines in the World
A global overview of the legal status of ancestral medicines.
For guidance only: this does not replace specialist legal advice. If your organisation needs guidance, contact the Federation.