Magic mushrooms cannot be considered a prohibited substance under NDPS Act, observes Kerala HC

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has observed that magic mushrooms cannot be classified as a prohibited narcotic substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The court noted that mushrooms are a naturally occurring fungus.

The observation was made by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan while hearing the case of a Karnataka native who has been in jail for 90 days in connection with a drug-related offence. Referring to judgments by the Karnataka High Court in the case of Saeidi Mozdheh Ehsan Vs State of Karnataka and the Madras High Court in the case of S Mohan Vs Tamil Nadu Government, the court granted bail to the accused.

The accused was arrested in October 2024, and 226 grams of magic mushrooms and 50 grams of magic mushroom capsules were seized from him, along with small quantities of cannabis and charas.

The defence argued that magic mushrooms (Psilocybin mushrooms) and their capsules were measured collectively, without specifically determining the quantity of the psychotropic substance present. Furthermore, they contended that the level of intoxicants in the seized mushrooms was within the permissible limits for small quantities under the NDPS Act.

Based on these arguments, the High Court observed that magic mushrooms do not fall under the category of banned substances as per the NDPS Act and subsequently granted bail to the accused.