The New York Assembly bill, sponsored by Linda Rosenthal, that would create a licensed supervised psilocybin therapy program in the most populous US state on the East Coast.
New York Assembly Bill A628 would remove psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline from New York's Schedule I controlled-substance list and legalize personal use of those substances for adults 21 and older.
The bill does not create licensed therapy clinics, facilitator credentials, or supervised-session rules. It is a decriminalization measure, not a regulated-access measure. An adult 21+ could legally possess, use, grow, share, or gift any of the five covered substances for personal or ceremonial purposes under state law — without a doctor's order or a licensed setting.
Commercial sale for profit remains outside the bill's scope. Sharing "with or without remuneration" is permitted, which is a broader phrase than most decriminalization bills use — the text also explicitly protects religious and ceremonial use by non-commercial organizations.
A628 amends four New York state codes to remove criminal penalties and add legal protections for covered activities. The main changes:
One provision stands out from typical decriminalization bills: A628 sets no specific possession weight limit for adults 21+. Most decriminalization measures cap personal amounts. The absence of a cap reflects the bill's framing of these as natural plant medicines rather than regulated drugs.
Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal has introduced a version of this bill in every session since 2019, making it one of the longest-running psilocybin decriminalization pushes in any US state legislature.
The September 2025 hearing was a meaningful step. It was the first time the Assembly Health Committee formally examined psilocybin science. That kind of hearing usually precedes a committee markup — but it is not a guarantee that a vote follows.
A628 sits in a larger cluster of New York psychedelic legislation filed in the 2025-2026 session. Readers often conflate these bills — they have different models and different sponsors.
| Bill | Sponsor | What it does | Status (mid-2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A628 | Rosenthal (Assembly) | Decriminalizes personal use of 5 natural psychedelics for adults 21+; no therapy program | Pending — Health Committee |
| S495 | Fernandez (Senate) | Creates a psilocybin-assisted therapy grant program; funds veterans, first responders, and low-income patients; allows home treatment for those who cannot travel | Pending — Finance Committee |
| S5303 | Senate (multiple) | Creates a licensed-cultivator and support-service-provider system; sets up a 13-member Regulated Psilocybin Advisory Board; can impose a tax on lawful use | Pending — committee |
| S1801 / A3845 | Senate / Assembly | Psilocybin-assisted therapy pilot for 10,000 veterans and first responders in western New York | Pending — committee |
S495 includes one provision that competitors miss: eligible patients who cannot travel may receive psilocybin treatment at home, supervised by a certified facilitator. No other pending US state bill in 2025 included this home-treatment provision, making it a significant access design choice that health equity advocates have flagged.
For a full look at where this fits nationally, see the psychedelic legalization tracker.
New York A628, Colorado Proposition 122, and Oregon Measure 109 all aim to expand psilocybin access — but they use very different legal structures. The comparison matters if you are trying to understand what New York would actually look like if A628 passed.
| Feature | New York A628 (if passed) | Colorado Prop 122 (passed 2022) | Oregon Measure 109 (passed 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal possession | Decriminalized for adults 21+ | Decriminalized for adults 21+ | Not decriminalized statewide |
| Home cultivation | Legal for personal use | Legal for personal use | Not legal |
| Licensed service centers | No (not in A628) | Yes — healing centers, open 2025 | Yes — service centers, open 2023 |
| Facilitator licensing | No | Yes — state-licensed facilitators | Yes — state-licensed facilitators |
| Substances covered | Psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline | Psilocybin first; DMT, ibogaine, mescaline eligible to add | Psilocybin only |
| No-cap personal possession | Yes (no weight limit in bill text) | Yes (no specific weight limit) | N/A (no personal possession right) |
| Religious/ceremonial use | Explicitly protected | Protected under decriminalization | Not separately addressed |
If A628 passed without any companion therapy bill, New York would have decriminalized personal use but no legal supervised access point. Anyone wanting a structured therapeutic setting would need to travel to Oregon or Colorado. See the Oregon Measure 109 guide and Colorado Proposition 122 guide for how those programs work today.
The New York Assembly Health Committee held its first formal hearing on psilocybin's medical potential on September 30, 2025 — a signal that lawmakers are treating the issue seriously rather than simply bottling it in committee.
Clinicians, researchers, nurses, veterans, mental health advocates, and patients testified. Experts said psilocybin shows strong results for treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and cluster headaches — conditions that often do not respond to standard medications. Assembly Health Committee Chair Amy Paulin said she hoped the testimony would build momentum for action when legislators returned to Albany in 2026.
Opposition voices at the hearing raised concerns about safety protocols, potential for misuse, and the strength of the evidence base for broad decriminalization versus a controlled clinical pathway. The mix of skepticism and support across both parties reflected the reality that no floor vote was imminent.
A committee hearing is not the same as a vote. But it is an important gate. In Oregon, a similar years-long hearing process preceded Measure 109's passage. New York's hearing record is now longer than Oregon's was at a comparable point.
For A628 to advance, it needs a committee vote in the Assembly Health Committee, then a full Assembly floor vote, then passage of a companion bill in the Senate, and finally the Governor's signature.
None of those steps has occurred as of mid-2026. The most likely near-term path involves a committee markup in the Assembly Health Committee, which could happen in the second half of the 2025-2026 session. A companion bill in the Senate — there is no direct Senate companion to A628 yet, though S495 and S5303 cover overlapping ground — would need to move in parallel.
The most direct way to track A628 is the psychedelic legalization tracker, which we update when bills move. You can also check the legal status by state tool for current New York psilocybin law.
All five substances covered by A628 are Schedule I under the federal Controlled Substances Act — meaning they are classified as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse at the federal level.
If New York passed A628, the state would remove its own criminal penalties, but federal law would not change. Federal agents could still enforce federal law on New York residents for the same activities the state bill permits. In practice, the DEA has not targeted individual users in states with decriminalization measures, but the legal exposure is real.
The A628 text includes a state-law enforcement non-cooperation clause, which bars state and local police from helping the federal government enforce actions permitted under the bill. That provision has precedent: similar clauses appear in cannabis legalization laws across several states. It does not bind federal agents.
For a deeper look at federal scheduling and why it matters for every state reform effort, see the Controlled Substances Act guide and the are mushrooms legal guide. The Freedom to Heal Act is the current federal bill that would change scheduling directly.
New York Assembly Bill A628 would remove psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline from the state's Schedule I list and legalize adult possession, use, cultivation, and gifting of those substances for people 21 and older. It does not create a licensed therapy program — it removes criminal penalties for personal use.
No. As of mid-2026, A628 is still pending in the New York Assembly Health Committee. It has not received a committee vote in the 2025-2026 session.
Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) is the primary sponsor. She filed near-identical versions in 2023 (A114) and 2025 (A628). Co-sponsors include Assemblymembers Simon, Reyes, Seawright, Epstein, Forrest, Bores, Walker, and Jackson.
No. Psilocybin is still a Schedule I controlled substance in New York and under federal law. A628 has not passed. There is no legal licensed therapy program or personal-use exemption in New York at this time.
No. A628 focuses on decriminalization — removing criminal penalties for personal use by adults 21+. Separate bills in the 2025-2026 session, including S495 and S5303, would create supervised therapy programs. A628 does not set up licensing, clinics, or a regulated services framework.
Colorado and Oregon both passed laws that created licensed, supervised psilocybin service centers. A628, if passed, would only decriminalize personal possession and use — it does not set up any licensed clinic, facilitator credential, or supervised session program. New York's approach is closer to a decriminalization model than Colorado's or Oregon's regulated-access model.
Our legal status tool shows current psilocybin law in every US state, updated as bills move. New York, Oregon, Colorado, and 47 others at a glance.
Get New York A628 — Psilocybin Therapy Act updates
New votes, rules, court rulings, and access changes for New York A628 — Psilocybin Therapy Act — delivered when they happen.
← Back to all psychedelic laws
Suggest a tool, topic, or improvement that would make this site more useful.