Muscimol is absent from the federal drug schedules, yet the FDA calls Amanita muscaria and muscimol unapproved food additives and Louisiana lists Amanita muscaria.
Muscimol does not appear in the federal controlled-substance schedules as read on October 12, 2026. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has still determined that muscimol is an unapproved food additive, so food containing it is adulterated under federal food law. Louisiana lists Amanita muscaria, the mushroom that contains muscimol, as a hallucinogenic plant. At The Psychedelic Journal, we compared the FDA letter, the Louisiana Act and the Toxins review with the federal schedule text.
Muscimol is not listed in any of the five federal controlled-substance schedules as read on October 12, 2026, which does not make it lawful to sell, because the FDA treats it as an unapproved food additive. Schedule I is in section 1308.11 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 1308.11). Its list includes psilocybin under controlled substances code number 7437 and psilocyn under code 7438.
The words muscimol and ibotenic acid do not appear in the text of 21 CFR 1308.11, 1308.12, 1308.13, 1308.14 or 1308.15, which hold Schedules I through V. That finding covers those five sections only. It is not a statement about every federal law.
Federal food law treats muscimol separately from the drug schedules. The FDA letter to industry states that Amanita muscaria, its extracts, muscimol, ibotenic acid and muscarine "do not meet the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) standard and are unapproved food additives." The same letter says: "Food containing such ingredients is adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act)."
Louisiana Act No. 159 of 2005 (House Bill 20) enacted Louisiana Revised Statutes (La. R.S.) 40:989.1, titled "Unlawful production, manufacture, distribution, or possession of hallucinogenic plants." The Act defines a hallucinogenic plant as any part or portion of a listed plant. That list includes Amanita muscaria, along with Psilocybe spp., Panaeolus spp., Conocybe spp., Stropharia spp. and Salvia divinorum.
Under the enrolled text, knowingly or intentionally producing, manufacturing or distributing a preparation intended for human consumption that contains a hallucinogenic plant is unlawful. Possessing such a preparation with intent to produce, manufacture or distribute it is covered too. The penalty is imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for two to ten years, and a fine of up to $20,000.
Knowingly or intentionally possessing such a preparation intended for human consumption is a separate offense in the enrolled text. It carries up to five years and a fine of up to $5,000. The Act does not apply to possessing, planting, growing or harvesting a hallucinogenic plant strictly for aesthetic, landscaping or decorative purposes.
Later amendments to La. R.S. 40:989.1 are not on our record, so the penalties above are those in the 2005 enrolled text. State law outside Louisiana is not on our record either, and this site did not find a second state with a named Amanita muscaria ban. For state rules, use our legal status by state tool.
Muscimol is one of three constituents of the Amanita muscaria mushroom named in the FDA letter, alongside ibotenic acid and muscarine. The Toxins review by Stoeva-Grigorova and colleagues describes how ibotenic acid turns into muscimol.
According to that review, about 10 to 20% of ingested ibotenic acid is metabolized to muscimol in the gastrointestinal tract. The rest of the ibotenic acid circulates and is excreted in urine within hours.
Drying converts part of the ibotenic acid. In dried specimens, part of the ibotenic acid is converted to muscimol, the review reports. The authors add that muscimol may convert back to ibotenic acid, which may explain differences between people.
Amanitin poisoning is a different poison, caused by deadly Amanita species. Our amanitin poisoning guide covers it separately from muscimol.
The Toxins review describes muscimol as a potent agonist, or activator, of GABA-A receptors that crosses the blood-brain barrier. Activating those receptors opens chloride channels. That hyperpolarizes neurons and suppresses their activity.
Ibotenic acid works through a different receptor. The review says ibotenic acid acts mainly by activating N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors, which is an excitatory effect.
Amanita muscaria therefore carries one compound that suppresses nerve activity and one that excites it. Muscarine, the third constituent the FDA names, is linked in the review to hypersalivation, heavy sweating (hyperhidrosis), a slow heart rate (bradycardia) and diarrhea.
The Toxins review reports a latent period of typically 30 minutes to 2 to 3 hours after Amanita muscaria is eaten. Early symptoms are gastrointestinal: nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Central nervous system effects listed in the review include confusion, vertigo, myoclonus (sudden muscle jerks), heightened sensitivity to sight and sound, dilated pupils, lethargy and deep sleep. Hallucinations usually begin within two hours and can last up to eight hours. The whole intoxication lasts roughly 24 hours.
The review attributes sedation, visual distortions, hallucinations, ataxia, postural instability and muscle fasciculations to muscimol in particular.
Mortality from accidental poisoning is reported at 2 to 5% of cases. The review says manifestations "typically resolve within a few hours" and describes the prognosis as generally favorable.
In the review's two case reports, an elderly couple prepared the mushroom at home. Both regained consciousness about 12 hours after hospital admission. Both fully recovered with no long-term complications.
The FDA letter cites reports to the FDA's CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System describing central nervous system depression, drowsiness, seizures and hospitalizations. The letter also cites a National Poison Data System query that reported "hundreds of calls in the last year." Those calls described similar symptoms plus cardiovascular effects, hallucinations, respiratory depression and death.
A single Amanita muscaria fruiting body weighing 50 to 70 grams fresh typically contains about 6 milligrams of muscimol and up to 70 milligrams of ibotenic acid, according to the Toxins review.
The review calls the toxic profile "highly variable." Spring and summer specimens reportedly contain up to ten times more toxins than autumn ones. Geographic origin, season and preparation method all influence concentrations.
Drying adds another variable, because it converts part of the ibotenic acid into muscimol. With a tenfold seasonal range reported, the 6 milligram figure is a typical value for one fruiting body and does not describe every mushroom.
Psilocybin and psilocyn are listed in Schedule I under codes 7437 and 7438, while muscimol is absent from Schedules I through V as read on October 12, 2026. Psilocybin is a Schedule I substance and muscimol is not named in the schedules.
Louisiana's 2005 Act treats the two mushroom groups alike. Its list of hallucinogenic plants names Amanita muscaria and Psilocybe spp. in the same definition, so the same enrolled-text penalties apply to preparations containing either.
On receptor action, the Toxins review describes muscimol as a GABA-A receptor agonist that suppresses neuron activity. Psilocybin pharmacology is not on our record. Our psilocybin guide covers psilocybin, and our guide to whether mushrooms are legal covers psilocybin mushroom law.
The FDA letter on Amanita muscaria was signed by the Acting Director of the Office of Post Market Assessment in the FDA Human Foods Program. The FDA page was current as of December 18, 2024.
The FDA review found "there is not enough safety evidence to show the consumption of these substances as food ingredients would be safe." It added that "the information available indicates that their use as food ingredients may be harmful."
The FDA food safety standard requires "a reasonable certainty in the minds of competent scientists that no harm would result." The FDA concluded that Amanita muscaria and its constituents, including muscimol, do not meet the GRAS standard.
For a product containing muscimol or Amanita muscaria and sold as a food, the drug schedules and the FDA letter give separate answers. The drug schedules do not name muscimol. The FDA letter treats food containing muscimol as adulterated under the FD&C Act.
In Louisiana, the 2005 Act also covers preparations intended for human consumption that contain Amanita muscaria. For psychedelic-adjacent retail products more broadly, read our legal psychedelic products guide.
To see the FDA's exact wording on muscimol before relying on a product's legal claims, read the FDA letter to industry on Amanita muscaria.
Muscimol is not named in federal Schedules I through V (21 CFR 1308.11 to 1308.15) as read on October 12, 2026. That does not make it lawful to sell as food, because the FDA has determined muscimol is an unapproved food additive and food containing it is adulterated under the FD&C Act. Louisiana also lists Amanita muscaria as a hallucinogenic plant.
No. Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I substances under codes 7437 and 7438, while muscimol does not appear in the federal schedules. The Toxins review describes muscimol as a GABA-A receptor agonist from Amanita muscaria, and Louisiana lists Amanita muscaria and Psilocybe spp. as separate entries in its hallucinogenic plant list.
The Act names the plant Amanita muscaria, and whether it reaches muscimol alone is not on our record. Louisiana Act No. 159 of 2005 lists Amanita muscaria as a hallucinogenic plant. In the enrolled text, producing, manufacturing or distributing a preparation for human consumption that contains one carries two to ten years and a fine of up to $20,000. Knowingly possessing such a preparation carries up to five years and a fine of up to $5,000. Later amendments to the statute are not on our record.
If a gummy is sold as food, the FDA says food containing muscimol is adulterated under the FD&C Act. Other product classes are not on our record, and muscimol is not in the federal drug schedules. This site gives no sourcing or buying advice.
The Toxins review describes muscimol as a potent GABA-A receptor agonist that crosses the blood-brain barrier. Activating those receptors opens chloride channels, which hyperpolarizes neurons and suppresses their activity. The review lists sedation, visual distortions, hallucinations, ataxia, postural instability and muscle fasciculations among muscimol-associated effects.
The Toxins review reports mortality of 2 to 5% of cases in accidental Amanita muscaria poisoning and describes the prognosis as generally favorable. The FDA letter cites adverse event reports of central nervous system depression, seizures and hospitalizations, plus a National Poison Data System query that included respiratory depression and death. The FDA says the available information indicates that use of these substances as food ingredients may be harmful.
Whether muscimol is addictive is not on our record. The FDA letter, the Louisiana Act and the Toxins review cover legal status, food safety and acute poisoning, and none of them answers this question.
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