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Part 5 · Visiting NL

Magic truffles in the Netherlands: what UK visitors need to know

In the Netherlands fresh magic truffles are legal to buy and use, and adults can get them in smartshops and from Dutch web shops. Magic mushrooms are not: fresh ones have been banned since December 2008, and Dutch drug services class dried truffles as a hard drug. For someone from the UK the rule is simple. Truffles are for the stay. The moment they cross a border into the UK they are a Class A drug, and bringing them in is an import offence with a maximum of life imprisonment.

Updated

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, section 3, and Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, section 170

Import ban and the customs offence, extract

In force Official text

MDA 1971, 3.(1) Subject to subsection (2) below: (a) the importation of a controlled drug1; and (b) the exportation of a controlled drug, are hereby prohibited.

CEMA 1979, 170.(2) [...] if any person is, in relation to any goods, in any way knowingly concerned in any fraudulent evasion or attempt at evasion2 [...] (b) of any prohibition or restriction for the time being in force with respect to the goods under or by virtue of any enactment [...] he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and may be detained.

  1. the importation of a controlled drug

    Magic truffles bought legally in the Netherlands are a controlled drug the moment they arrive in the UK. There is no personal allowance and no exception for small amounts.

    GOV.UK, banned goods

  2. knowingly concerned in any fraudulent evasion

    Carrying truffles through the border, posting them home or asking someone else to bring them all fall under this wording. For a Class A drug the maximum is life imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

    CEMA 1979, Schedule 1

What Dutch law allows

The Dutch addiction service Jellinek sets out the position. Psilocin and psilocybin are on List I of the Opium Act. Mushrooms that contain them have been on List II since December 2008, and dried mushrooms fall under List I. Truffles are sclerotia, not mushrooms, so fresh truffles are not covered by the Opium Act. The status of dried truffles has not been settled in law; the Jellinek classes them as List I.

The Dutch Supreme Court started from the same position in a tax case decided on 10 April 2026. The established facts record that magic truffles fall outside the Opium Act and may be grown and traded freely; the case itself was about which VAT rate applies to them.

In the NetherlandsStatus
Fresh magic trufflesLegal to sell, buy and possess
Dried magic trufflesNot settled; the Jellinek classes them as List I
Fresh magic mushroomsOpium Act, List II, since December 2008
Dried magic mushroomsOpium Act, List I
Driving after useProhibited

Buying them

Shops sell truffles only to adults; Dutch-Smart's truffles are for people aged 18 and over. Dutch-Smart ships with PostNL within the Netherlands, including to pick-up points, and orders placed before 16:00 on a weekday are sent the same day (shipping information). That makes it possible to order for an address where you are staying, such as a rented flat, as long as you can receive the parcel.

Truffles are fresh and perishable. Dutch-Smart advises storing them unopened in the fridge at 2 to 4 °C until the expiry date and using them soon after opening. Plan the order so that you use them during the stay and do not end up with leftovers on the last day.

(1+1) Mexicana Magic Truffles NL only (1+1) Mexicana Magic Truffles €14.95Dutch-Smart View product Pajaritos Magic Truffles NL only Pajaritos Magic Truffles €14.95Dutch-Smart View product Atlantis Magic Truffles NL only Atlantis Magic Truffles €14.95Dutch-Smart View product

The truffle guide orders the full range by the strength the shop gives for each one.

Using them during your stay

Jellinek gives these timings: effects begin 30 to 60 minutes after taking them, are strongest in the first two hours, and wear off after 4 to 6 hours. It describes the main risk as a frightening or overwhelming experience, and warns that people who have had a psychosis can relapse. A few practical points follow from that:

  • Use them somewhere you can stay for the whole day. Dutch-Smart advises having a sober person present who is not taking anything.
  • Do not plan to travel, cycle or drive. Dutch law prohibits taking part in traffic under the influence, and Jellinek notes you can feel hazy for some time afterwards.
  • Dutch-Smart's product information advises against combining truffles with cannabis, and also lists lithium, SSRIs and MAO inhibitors as combinations to avoid.
  • In an emergency in the Netherlands, call 112.

Going home: nothing comes with you

Truffles contain psilocybin, an ester of psilocin, so in UK law they are "fungus (of any kind) which contains psilocin or an ester of psilocin": a Class A drug.

  • Carrying them through the border is importing a controlled drug, banned by section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Knowingly evading that ban is an offence under section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, with a maximum of life imprisonment for a Class A drug.
  • Posting them to yourself is the same import offence.
  • Having them in the UK after the trip is possession of a Class A drug, with a maximum of 7 years.
  • Giving leftovers to a friend at home is supply, with a maximum of life.

GOV.UK lists controlled drugs among the goods you cannot bring into the UK, and there is no personal allowance. Drying truffles to make them last longer does not help either: in the Netherlands the Jellinek classes dried truffles as a List I drug, and in the UK they are Class A in any form.

The safe plan is to buy only what you will use, use it during the stay, and dispose of anything left over before you leave.

Countries on the way

Truffles are legal in the Netherlands because of Dutch law, and the neighbours do not all share it. In Germany, for example, psilocybin and psilocin are listed in Annex I of the Narcotics Act (BtMG). A trip home by road or rail may cross other countries, and whatever you carry is covered by the law of each one.