King County considers decriminalizing psilocybin mushrooms
Published 10:29 am Thursday, March 19, 2026
The King County Council is considering decriminalizing “entheogen-related activities” related to the use of psychoactive substances such as psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca tea in the county.
At its March 17 meeting, the council deferred a motion in the consent agenda stating the “support for continued entheogen-related research for alternative treatment modalities, structured medical models, and full decriminalization of entheogen-related activities and requesting that the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of any adult engaging in certain entheogen-related activities be among King County’s lowest criminal enforcement priorities.”
Council chair Sarah Perry, who represents District 3, said the item will have a one-week delay at the request of an unnamed councilmember.
Entheogens are any living, fresh, dried, or processed plant or fungal material containing psychoactive substances. This includes psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca tea, mescaline and iboga.
Under federal law, most entheogens are classified as Schedule I controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and are considered to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
However, recent scientific evidence suggests potential medical and therapeutic benefits from the controlled, clinical use of entheogens for certain mental health conditions.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration designated psilocybin-assisted therapy as a breakthrough therapy for treatment-resistant depression in 2018 and major depressive disorder in 2019. A 2024 systematic review found that psychedelic substances, including psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca and MDMA, demonstrated therapeutic benefits for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Several cities in Washington have passed resolutions to make personal, non-commercial use of certain entheogens by adults the lowest priority for local law enforcement, including Seattle, Olympia, Tacoma and Port Townsend.
In 2022, Colorado voters passed a proposition that decriminalized the personal use and private cultivation of psilocybin and psilocin for adults 21 and older. Oregon and New Mexico both have laws allowing the use of psilocybin at service centers or clinics. New Jersey reduced the criminal penalties for the personal use of psilocybin to a maximum of six months.
The proposed motion states the King County Council’s support for continued research for entheogen-related alternative treatments and the full decriminalization of the personal use of entheogens at the state and federal level. It also requests making law enforcement entheogen use for adults the King County’s lowest criminal enforcement priority and not to use the county’s resources on those law enforcement actions. This request is limited to unincorporated areas and is not intended for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to decline the prosecution of cases for entheogen-related offenses that involve other substances or where public safety is put at risk.
The proposed motion also explicitly does not support driving under the influence of entheogens; possession or distribution of entheogens in schools; use of entheogens on any form of public transit; possession, distribution, or sale of entheogens by or to minor children; commercial manufacturing or sales of entheogens; or conduct that puts public safety at risk.
The prosecuting attorney’s office said drug possession cases have not been felony crimes since the 2023 passage of a state law (SB 5536). The office reports that drug possession cases — street use cases — are handled at the city level by law, and that law enforcement would only refer possession cases to the office if they occurred on state roadways or in unincorporated areas of King County. The prosecuting attorney’s office reports its focus is going after drug trafficking and drug dealing, particularly fentanyl and meth.
The King County Sheriff’s Office said it prioritizes investigations on behaviors and circumstances that are unsafe for other people in the community or are criminal in nature.
“If while interacting with someone [and] one of these substances are mentioned or encountered, deputies will typically note them in a report,” the sheriff’s office said. “If the substances are present, deputies will usually take possession of them for disposal. KCSO does not typically focus on the possession or use of entheogens as a sole reason for investigating or enforcing laws on someone.”
In the last three years, King County found 125 cases mentioning “entheogen,” “psilocybin” and “mushrooms.” Eleven of those had enforcement, either for other controlled substances or DUI. In the other cases deputies typically confiscated the entheogens for disposal without further action, according to the county.
Several people spoke in favor of entheogen decriminalization during the council meeting’s public comment.
Retired Marine Corps combat veteran and co-founder of Key Peninsula Psychedelic Society Matt Metzger said psilocybin mushrooms helps him with PTSD from serving in the Iraq War as well as surviving an attempted murder from a fellow Marine.
“From 2005 to 2020, I was heavily medicated to function as a normal human being. These pharmaceutical drugs numbed me to the world, allowing me to simply survive and carry my trauma without truly living my life. I could not emotionally connect with my wife and sons, and many nights I prayed I wouldn’t wake up, or wished for an accident to end my pain,” Metzger said. “This medicine changed my life profoundly, allowing me to connect with my family and live fully again. It laid a solid foundation for other healing modalities such as therapy, which I still pursue.”
Fellow Key Peninsula Psychedelic Society co-founder Sarah Jett Rayburn said her illnesses forced her to leave her job as EMT before being bound to a wheelchair a few years ago, with using a walker as the best possible future scenario.
“I am able, if you could see my camera, to stand before you today unassisted because I have been illegally healing with the support of psychedelics and cannabis after traditional medical approaches failed me,” Rayburn said. “These medicines helped me reclaim my mental health, reconnect with my body and build my life in ways that no prescription ever did.”
Representatives from Veterans for Peace Seattle Chapter 92 and Psychedelic Medicine Alliance of Washington also spoke in support.
The King County Council meetings are at 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays at 516 3rd Avenue, Room 1001 (10th Floor) in Seattle. Meetings are hybrid and can be viewed online via Zoom.
