Legality

Disclaimer: Information listed here maybe wrong, inaccurate or out of date. Regulations do change all the time.

Here's a list of the places we know about. Much of this is 'off the net' and may thus be more or less flawed. "Y" means it is legal, "N" means it is illegal, "?" means their status is unclear.

	A: Possession of fresh mushrooms B: Possession of dried mushrooms C: Possession of mushroom spores D: Cultures at mycelium stage E: Cultures at mushroom stage
Location	A B C D E	Noted
Austria	Y ? Y Y Y	Mushrooms are considered decorative plants and unless attempts to extract psilocybin are made, they should remain legal.
Canada	Y N Y Y Y	If Bill C-7 passes, possession of fresh mushrooms and cultures will become illegal.
Great Britain	Y Y Y Y Y	A legislative quirk allows the possession of "naturally dried" (sun-dried) shrooms.
The Netherlands	Y N Y Y Y	Even the sale of fresh mushrooms is legal. See "Growing Mushrooms" for addresses.
United States (California)	N N N N N	Spores and cultures are explicitly forbidden by CA Health & Safety Code Section 11391.
United States (Florida)	Y N Y Y N	Possession of fresh mushroom if picked "accidentally" (low quantities) is allowed.
United States (Oregon)	Y N Y Y N	Even allowing mushrooms to grow on your property is (theoretically) illegal.
United States (Federal)	N N Y Y N	State laws take precedence over Federal law in the U.S., so this may not apply.
International	Y N Y Y N	This is the United Nations standard and most nations follow it.

These laws are based on a balance between the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, which makes psilocybin and psilocin illegal, and recognition of the fact that the substances occur in nature. For each category:

• Fresh shrooms: The basic idea is that since shrooms grow in nature, it'd be silly to arrest grannies who happen to have a few growing in their backyard, or who pick them by accident. This hasn't stopped most of the US (except Florida) from banning them entirely. Of course, if you are caught with 3000 Str. cubensis, you'll have a hard time claiming you picked them by "accident".
• Dry shrooms: Usually taken as proof of intent to consume, and thus illegal. In Britain, "naturally dried" shrooms are legal, ie. if you leave them on a windowsill by 'accident' it's OK.
• Shroom spores: Spores contain no psilocybin or psilocin and thus are not covered by regulations - except in California.
• Cultures before shrooms appear: Same as above, usually. Advanced mycelia do contain psilocybin and psilocin. With the rice cake method you can grow until the mycelia are complete and then eat the cakes; this way you can trip without ever being in possession of shrooms.
• Cultures after shrooms appear: Clear intent to consume, and you'll probably get charged with possession with intent to sell as well. However! In some more liberal countries, such as Finland, you might be able to argue that the mushrooms were grown for decorative (ha!) or research purposes. Do not count on it.

Mushroom hunting is another issue. On public property, hunting itself is not illegal, but you're not likely to run into cows in national parks either. =) Some countries like Finland have the legal concept of "everyman's right" which allows, among other things, picking mushrooms on private property, except on fields which once again makes things tricky. But unless you live in a notorious shroom zone - some areas of Florida and South Wales come to mind - the odds of getting hassled by farmers, much less getting caught by the police, are practically zero.

If you are caught by the cops, expect to be charged with trespassing and possession of controlled substances. Unless large quantities are involved, you will probably get by with probation and/or a fine. If caught in Florida, you can cite the state laws and have the possession charge reduced or dropped entirely.

Disclaimer: Information listed here maybe wrong, inaccurate or out of date. Regulations do change all the time.