Mind Altering Plants You Can Legally Grow in the UK

Foraging is great, and we love finding berries and fruits for free. But what about if you’re also interested in the psychadelic or mind altering properties of plants? Well, there are obviously lots of plants that grow wild in the UK that are psychadelic, the most obvious of which are magic mushrooms.

Unfortunately picking or preparing magic mushrooms is illegal, as is growing them at home using easily availble grow kits.

But what about the other plants that can give you a buzz and are legal to grow at home? Believe it or not, there are actually quite a few.

We’ve rounded up the mind altering plants that are legal to grow in the UK. Side note – this article does not constitute legal advice and we do not condone growing drugs at home or for resale purposes.

This is just a guide for information and entertainment, so if in doubt don’t grow anything that might get you in trouble.

7 mind altering plants you can legally grow in the UK

1. Salvia

This very pretty plant is a herb related to sage, and makes for a beautiful feature in an English country garden. You can find salvia seeds and plants available in garden centres across the UK, and it’s also pretty easy to grow indoors or outdoors.

And interestingly, the salvia plant also contains a mind altering element within its leaves. The leaves of the salvia plant can be either brewed in a tea, or dried and smoked, to produce hallucinations. The most potent salvia plant is the salvia divornium, which is the salvia that is often sold as a ‘legal high’ in the UK.

To be clear here – salvia can be an intense experience, and is rarely seen as something euphoric or as a party drug. If you’re thinking of taking salvia, make sure to do your research first.

In the UK, growing salvia including purple sage, is not illegal. However preparing for sale or the sale of salvia is illegal and can result in arrest and a prison term.

2. Peyote cactus

Despite being a well known mind altering and psychadelic plant, the peyote cactus is actually totally legal to grow in the UK. But once again it’s the preparation and sale of it that is illegal.

You can find seeds and mature peyote cactus online, or if you’re lucky you might even spot them in garden centres. Because peyote is also an endangered plant, it’s not that easy to find.

Be warned though it can take years to grow a peyote cactus from seed, and mature specimens can fetch a high price. Also the amount of peyote need for a psychedelic experience makes growing peyote a labour intensive and very lengthy process for one trip.

But if you’re looking for a fun indoor garden project, the peyote cactus could be an enjoyable project.

3. Mescaline cactus

There are several different cactus species containing mescaline, including the San Pedro cactus and the Peruvian torch. Both of these cacti species are much faster growing than the peyote cactus and usually much cheaper to buy too.

Again, you will need to do your research into your cacti. But at the moment it is totally legal to own and grow mescaline containing cacti, including the San Pedro cactus, in the UK.

In fact you can often find

And once again it’s also illegal to process or sell any of the parts of the cactus for consumption.

4. Opium poppies

The poppy is a beautiful plant, and one that you’ll see across the UK in the spring and into the summer. And if you want to grow poppies in your garden, you’ll find them a great addition.

Obviously the opium poppy has a reputation as source of the class A drugs opium and heroin. And double obviously we DO NOT condone the consumption of either of these drugs.

However, the opium poppy itself is totally legal to grow in the UK. Be warned though that once you have poppies in your garden, you’re not going to get rid of them easily. They can spread and grow rapidly, and even pop up in places where you didn’t expect to see them such as concrete yards or hidden corners.

This mind altering plant does of course contain opiods in the seeds and the resin from the bulbs. However we strongly advise against consuming opium poppy seeds or resin as the strength can be inconsistent and can even be toxic.

Another obvious statement, but growing opium poppies to process and resell is also highly illegal in the UK. Having a few in your garden is one thing, but growing a field full is going to start leading to awkward questions from the law.

They make beautiful plants for your garden though!

5. Tobacco

Yes, the main ingredient in cigarettes has become a demon plant in the eyes of society. But the benefits of this mind altering plant have been used for centuries by Native Americans, and still are in some places.

Tobacco is also being researched as a medicinal plant too.

The tobacco plant is actually totally legal to grow at home in the UK. And of course it is a natural stimulant which can be dried and smoked. Bear in mind that if you do intend to consume your home grown tobacco, you should look into how to process it properly as the leaves can be toxic and cause serious illness.

6. Morning glory

Another stunning flower that also doubles as a mind altering plant you can grow in the UK. It has been discovered that the plants of the morning glory plant contain LSA, which is similar to LSD.

So, yes, you can chew morning glory seeds to experience a high including hallucinations.

However it has been noted that LSA is more toxic than LSD and cause significant discomfort in those who try to consume it. Basically, don’t start looking for morning glory and then eating the seeds without doing your research first…

7. Passion flower

In the summer you might have seen these vibrant purple and white flowers with the small orange fruits. The passion flower is certainly an attractive plant. But did you know the flowers can also be consumed for a mild high? You do need quite high amounts of passion flower to experience a high, and the main reasons to drink it are for it’s relaxant qualities – it’s supposedly a great sleep aid.

There are also a number of alleged health benefits of the passion flower. But you can simply find your passion flowers and either make a tea with them or dry them and smoke them or use the powder to add to other mixtures.

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If you’d like to forage or explore our glorious county, you’ll find plenty of plants you can eat safely. Check out our foraging guide.

We hope this article on the mind altering plants you can find or grow in the UK has been an eye opener for you. Let us know what you think in the comments.