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New York bill would follow federal rescheduling of psychedelic medicines automatically

A bill filed in Albany in 2026, S9852 in the Senate and A11499 in the Assembly, would let an FDA-approved medicine made from a Schedule I drug, such as a psilocybin treatment, take its new federal schedule in New York the moment the DEA's change takes effect. Today the state health commissioner has to act by regulation first, a step that could delay New Yorkers' access after a federal approval.

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Published by the Mushrooms New York desk

Albany, April 8, 2026. Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, whose 23rd District covers the North and East Shores of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, introduced S9852 and it was referred to the Senate Health Committee. Sens. John Liu, Shelley Mayer and James Sanders Jr. cosponsor it.1 The Assembly version, A11499, followed on May 28, 2026, introduced by the Rules Committee at the request of Assemblymember Patrick Burke and sent to Assembly Health.2 The sponsor's memo calls it the "Access to Innovative Mental Health Treatments Act."1

What the bill does

It adds a new subdivision 6 to Public Health Law section 3307. If a compound, mixture or preparation containing a Schedule I substance "is approved by the federal food and drug administration and is designated or rescheduled by the federal drug enforcement administration in a schedule other than Schedule I," it is "deemed scheduled" in New York in the same schedule as of the federal effective date, "without the need for further action by the commissioner."3 The Assembly text is the same.2

The bill doesn't name psilocybin, MDMA or any other drug. The memo says it "refers only to compounds, mixtures, or preparations approved by the FDA for legitimate use in health care, not entire classes of substances."1 It would take effect immediately.3

How New York handles federal rescheduling now

New York already has a rule for this. Chapter 777 of the Laws of 2022, Sen. Gustavo Rivera's S8618, passed the Senate 62-0 on May 3, 2022, passed the Assembly on May 16 and was signed on December 23, 2022.4 It's now section 3307(5), which says the commissioner "shall by regulation or emergency regulation" reclassify a Schedule I compound once it's rescheduled federally. The statute sets no deadline for that regulation.5 S9852 keeps that process for everything else and skips it for FDA-approved products.3

Why it's on the table now

A psilocybin drug could reach that point soon. Compass Pathways, whose releases carry a London and New York dateline, said on August 5, 2026 that it expects to finish its new drug application for COMP360, a synthetic psilocybin treatment for treatment-resistant depression, in the fourth quarter of 2026 and to launch in the first half of 2027, "subject to FDA approval and following Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rescheduling." The company said about 90% of the U.S. patient population lives in states that "intend to reschedule within 30 days" after federal DEA action.6 Our post on Compass's FDA review has more.

Washington is pushing the same way. Executive Order 14401, signed April 18, 2026, tells the Attorney General to start and finish reviews of Schedule I products that complete phase 3 trials for a serious mental health disorder, so rescheduling "may proceed as quickly as practicable" once they're approved.7

Spectrum News reported on October 7, 2026 that a coalition including LifeSciencesNY sent lawmakers a letter in June urging passage. "The opportunity to do something is now," Burke told the outlet. Scarcella-Spanton said in a statement that once a treatment is FDA-approved and rescheduled by the DEA, "New Yorkers who could benefit from it should have access to it."8

What it wouldn't change

It wouldn't legalize mushrooms or psilocybin itself. Psilocybin stays on New York's Schedule I,9 and possessing it outside an approved use stays a crime under the Penal Law, as our penalties guide explains. The bill would matter for a specific FDA-approved medicine, not for mushrooms. For the broader picture, see whether shrooms are legal in New York and the therapy options available now.

What happens next

  • S9852 and A11499 are in the Health committees. Neither has had a vote.1, 2
  • They're 2025-2026 session bills, so they'd need to be filed again in the 2027-2028 session if they don't pass this year.1
  • Without the bill, a psilocybin medicine that the DEA moves out of Schedule I would reach New York's schedules through the commissioner's regulation under section 3307(5).5
  • Every version is on our New York psilocybin bill tracker.

Sources

  1. Senate Bill S9852, 2025-2026 session: sponsors, actions and sponsor memo, and Sen. Scarcella-Spanton's biography. New York State Senate, checked November 2, 2026.
  2. Assembly Bill A11499, 2025-2026 session: actions and text. New York State Senate, checked November 2, 2026.
  3. S9852 bill text. New York State Legislature, April 8, 2026.
  4. Senate Bill S8618, 2021-2022 session: votes and Chapter 777. New York State Senate.
  5. Public Health Law section 3307. New York State Senate, checked November 2, 2026.
  6. Compass Pathways second quarter 2026 results, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, August 5, 2026.
  7. Executive Order 14401, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness, section 5. Federal Register, 91 FR 21709, April 22, 2026.
  8. Nicole Neuman, push for New York to "modernize" its laws to increase access to new mental health treatments. Spectrum News 1, October 7, 2026.
  9. Public Health Law section 3306, Schedule I(d)(18). New York State Senate, checked November 2, 2026.

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Reported and checked by the Mushrooms New York desk. Every figure on this page links to its source. If something is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll correct it in the open, as our editorial standards describe. Mushrooms New York is published by the team behind My Mushroom Dispensary, an online shop. We sell no advertising.