Yes. Fresh magic truffles are legal to buy, own and eat in Amsterdam, and the rules are the same for tourists as for residents. There is no residence test of the kind some Dutch towns use for cannabis. The limits sit elsewhere: in what you do with the truffles, where you are when you take them, and what you take with you when you leave.
Why truffles are legal when magic mushrooms are not
The Dutch Opium Act lists psilocybin and psilocin, the active compounds, on List I. Since 1 December 2008 mushrooms that contain those compounds are banned as well, on List II of the same act (Opium Act). Magic truffles are sclerotia: compact underground knots of fungal tissue. Botanically they are not mushrooms, so the 2008 ban does not cover them. The Trimbos Institute's information service says it plainly: truffles are not covered by the Opium Act and are sold freely in smart shops (DRUGSinfo).
The Dutch Supreme Court took the same position in a tax case about the VAT rate on truffles. In its ruling of 10 April 2026 it starts from the fact that "magic truffles fall outside the Opium Act, so they can be grown and traded freely" (Hoge Raad, ECLI:NL:HR:2026:450). That was a VAT case and it created no new regime, but it shows how settled the point is.
What is still illegal
- Magic mushrooms. Fresh or dried, they are a controlled drug. Anyone offering you "mushrooms" in the street is selling something illegal, and possibly something else altogether.
- Dried truffles. Their status has never been settled by a court or a specific rule. Jellinek, Amsterdam's addiction care organisation, classes dried truffles as a List I drug (Jellinek). Keep them fresh and in their pack.
- Pure psilocybin or psilocin in any form, including extracts.
- Driving or cycling under the influence. Dutch traffic law forbids taking part in traffic while under the influence of a substance that impairs your driving, and that includes a rented bike (Road Traffic Act 1994, art. 8).
Shops only sell to adults. Dutch-Smart states on every truffle page that its truffles are available exclusively to people of 18 and older.
Amsterdam's own rules for public space
Amsterdam adds local rules in its general bylaw, the Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening (APV). We read the version in force from 14 October 2026 (APV Amsterdam). Article 2.7 contains the rules visitors meet most often:
| APV rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| Art. 2.7(1) | No openly carrying or using hard drugs in the street or other public places |
| Art. 2.7(2) | No hanging around in the street to buy or sell drugs covered by the Opium Act |
| Art. 2.7(3) | No nitrous oxide (laughing gas) in public places |
| Art. 2.7(4) | No soft drugs such as cannabis in public places within an area of the old centre drawn on a map in the bylaw's annex; coffeeshops are the exception |
| Art. 2.17 | No drinking alcohol, or carrying opened bottles and cans, in streets the mayor has designated |
Truffles are not named in any of these articles. That does not make a street, a square or a park a good place to take them. Police can act on nuisance and disorder whatever the substance, and the APV's ban on hanging around to buy drugs is aimed squarely at the street trade. The practical answer is on the page about where to take truffles: indoors, in a place you have arranged in advance.
Street dealers
Jellinek's page for tourists repeats the city's warning: street dealers in the centre target young visitors, often sell fake drugs and sometimes rob people (Jellinek, information for tourists). Buying from them is a risk to your safety and, under APV art. 2.7(2), an offence in itself. Truffles are sold openly in licensed shops and online, so there is no reason to buy anything in the street.
What this means for your stay
- Buy fresh truffles in a shop or order them to a Dutch address (how to buy).
- Use them during your stay, indoors, with nobody driving or cycling afterwards.
- Do not take them home. In the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and many other countries they count as a controlled drug (going home).
Law checked on 15 October 2026. Rules can change; the links above go to the current official texts.