Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed the agriculture bill, which contains, amongst others, a prohibition against the spores found in psychedelic fungi.
On Thursday, the governor who had previously indicated that he was going to approve SB 700, the anti-psilocybin bill from Sen. Keith Truenow, did it formally.
The psychedelic mushroom spore ban is just one provision of the roughly 150-page agriculture bill, which also contains a new ban on local governments from adding fluoride to public drinking water—an issue that dominated debate as the proposal made its way through the legislature.
In relation to psychedelic mushroom, the new legislation prohibits transporting or importing “mycelium or spores capable of generating mushrooms or other materials which contain controlled substances during their lifetime, including psilocybin and psilocyn.”
Violations of the new law are considered a misdemeanor in first degree, punishable by up to one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.
SB 700 makes various adjustments to Florida’s agricultural land, utilities, and wildlife management.
The two most important psychoactive substances in psychedelic mushroom are psilocybin (psilocin) and sylokin. Although spores themselves typically do not contain psilocybin or psilocin, they eventually produce fruiting bodies—mushrooms—that do contain the psychedelic compounds.
The federal government considers the spores legal because they don’t have any controlled substances.
“If the mushroom spores (or any other material) do not contain psilocybin or psilocin (or any other controlled substance or listed chemical), the material is considered not controlled,” Terrence Boos, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section chief, said in a memo last year. (Using a similar rationale, Boos has said that marijuana seeds are considered federally legal hemp because they themselves don’t contain THC.)
In Florida, a legislative report for HB 651—a House companion bill to the measure now now signed by DeSantis—similarly notes that “spores do not contain any psilocybin properties themselves and therefore could be considered legal under current law.”
The new law makes it illegal to possess spores and mycelium at any stage of their growth that can produce psilocybin, psilocin or both.
In Florida, psilocybin or psilocin are illegal. Simple possession of psilocybin and psilocin is considered to be a third-degree crime, punishable with up five years imprisonment or $5,000 in fines.
A legislative report for SB 700 notes that psychedelic mushrooms “became popular in the United States during the 1960s when American researchers first studied their healing properties and medical applications. The U.S. federal government has now classified them as Schedule I controlled drugs, meaning that they don’t have any medical applications.
The document also states that any material, compound or mixture containing the hallucinogenic drug known as Psilocybin is high-risk for abuse, and that it’s not accepted in medical treatments currently.
This ban was enacted into law despite the fact that several other measures aimed at expanding medical cannabis availability in Florida failed this legislative session. The Florida legislature also did not advance the proposal that would have restricted intoxicating hemp-based products from being enacted this year.
Meanwhile, DeSantis recently signed a separate bill into law will create new hurdles for advocates aiming to put ballot initiatives before voters—including, potentially, the renewed effort to legalize marijuana in the state.
The law, among other things, requires supporters to post a bond of $1,000,000 before they begin collecting signatures, forbids non-citizens and out-of state petitioners, and limits the time period during which the signatures can be presented to the election officials.
Rep. Jenna Persons Mulicka, (R) its sponsor, contends that “out-of state fraudsters are looking for a quick profit and by special interest groups intent on purchasing their way into the Constitution.”
Some critics have claimed that the changes would make it more difficult for Floridians have their voice heard. In order to get a Medicaid expansion measure approved in Florida, one group has sued DeSantis’ administration.
The new obstacles to placing a proposal on the statewide ballot come on the heels of two contentious constitutional amendments that went before voters last year, including one—Amendment 3—that would have legalized marijuana for adults 21 and older, and another on abortion rights.
The campaign for the marijuana measure, Smart & Safe Florida, took in more than $150 million in campaign funds—with most from large cannabis companies such as Trulieve, a multi-state operator that contributed tens of millions of dollars.
It also clashed with DeSantis as well as the state Republican Party, the latter of which Smart & Safe Florida later sued for allegedly deceiving voters about the measure.
In a recent lawsuit against new ballot restrictions, the cannabis campaign joined with other groups focusing on issues.
After Amendment 3 last year failed to win the 60 percent voter support needed to pass a constitutional amendment, Smart & Safe Florida is now aiming to put a revised legalization proposal on the 2026 state ballot.
Under the new law, signatures collected before enactment would not be subjected to the revised restrictions. Smart & Safe Florida has so far submitted just under, the 220,016 valid signatures needed to trigger a judicial and financial impact review of the proposal.
According to Florida Division of Elections, 880 062 valid signatures are needed statewide to qualify for the ballot in 2026.
Meanwhile in Florida, state elections officials recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to Smart & Safe Florida campaign, alleging that the group has “committed multiple election law violations.”
The Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS)—part of Florida’s Department of State—also fined Smart & Safe Florida more than $120,000 for submitting completed petitions more than 30 days after they were signed.
This issue was forwarded to Florida Department of Law Enforcement as a potential criminal investigation.
A representative of the campaign told MEDCAN24 that it had confidence in the election process, and intended to challenge the claim by the state that it broke the electoral law.
The statement states that “the claims appear to be an intentional effort to prevent the citizens of Florida from expressing their support for a citizen driven amendment.” We stand behind the process, and we had our legal counsel review all communications and forms before mailing.
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Image courtesy Wikimedia/Mushroom observer.