DEA increases psychedelic production quotas for 2026

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has finalized its production quotas for 2026 for controlled substances, confirming a significant increase in the legal manufacture of several psychedelic compounds used exclusively for research purposes.

This decision, published in the Federal Register in early January, reflects the growing scientific interest in the therapeutic potential of substances such as the psilocybin, the psilocin and the DMT.

Psilocybin and psilocin on the rise

Among the most notable changes, the quota of psilocybin has been increased to 50,000 grams by 2026, 40,000 grams in the initial proposal and 30,000 grams the previous year.

The increase is even more pronounced for the psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin. The DEA has set a quota of 80,000 grams for 2026, 48,000 grams in the draft regulation and 36,000 grams in 2025. In just one year, authorized production has more than doubled.

In its initial proposal, the agency explained that it was increasing quotas to allow researchers to study whether psychedelics could be used as a «potential treatment for disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression ».

For the DMT (dimethyltryptamine), DEA has set a quota of 25,000 grams for 2026, This represents an increase on the previous year's 20,000 grams. Unlike psilocybin and psilocin, the DMT quota remained unchanged in the initial 2026 proposal before being revised upwards in the final rule.

Other psychedelics continue their long-term growth trend

Several other substances have seen substantial increases over historical levels, even though their quotas have not been revised in the final rule.

The DEA has maintained its plan to authorize 30,000 grams of methylone in 2026. Just four years ago, the agency was proposing a production quota of just 40 grams for this MDMA-like compound. This figure rose steadily to 5,200 grams a year, and then to 30,000 grams, underlining changing research priorities.

Similarly, the 5-MeO-DMT will be authorized up to 30,000 grams in 2026, 11,000 grams in 2025. In 2021, the authorized production level was just 35 grams, illustrating the scale of the change in a short space of time.

Stable quotas for other controlled substances

Not all substances have been reviewed. DEA has confirmed that the proposed 2026 quotas for THC, theibogaine, the MDMA, the LSD, the mescaline and research materials derived from cannabis remain unchanged from last year.

Overall, the final quotas reflect a cautious but consistent shift in the administration of U.S. drug policy. While these substances remain strictly regulated, the federal government is increasingly taking into account the needs of academic and medical research, while the’interest in psychedelic science continues to grow.