Is Hawaiian baby woodrose legal? Country by country
Updated
In most countries the law names the substance, LSA (ergine or lysergamide), and not the plant. That leaves the seeds in a grey zone that differs from country to country, and a grey zone is not the same as permission. Below is what the law texts say, checked on 10 October 2026. This is not legal advice; laws change, and the way courts and customs apply them can differ from the text.
Overview
| Country | LSA itself | The seeds | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | not named in the Opium Act | sold in smartshops; RIVM judged use unsafe | Opiumwet, RIVM |
| Germany | covered by the NpSG group of Δ9,10-ergolenes | not named; not accepted as food | NpSG |
| United Kingdom | Class A ("Lysergamide") | not named; supply for consumption caught by the Psychoactive Substances Act | MDA 1971 |
| United States | Schedule III | not named in federal schedules | 21 CFR 1308.13 |
| Australia | not checked | prohibited in food; invasive plant in Queensland | Business Queensland |
| Belgium, Denmark | not checked | not allowed in food | RIVM, 2020 |
Netherlands
The Dutch Opium Act (Opiumwet) list I names lysergide (LSD) and the mono- and dialkylamide, pyrrolidine and morpholine derivatives of lysergic acid. LSA, the plain amide without alkyl groups, is not named on list I or list II (Opiumwet, version of 1 January 2026). Seeds of Argyreia nervosa are sold openly in smartshops and online.
That does not mean the authorities consider them harmless. In 2020, at the request of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), the RIVM assessed the seeds and capsules on the Dutch market and concluded that "the use of these seeds is unsafe" (RIVM, 2020). Shops in the Netherlands, including the one behind this site, offer the seeds as botanical specimens and state that they are not for consumption.
Germany
LSA is not listed in the annexes of the Narcotics Act (BtMG). It does fall within the New Psychoactive Substances Act (Neue-psychoaktive-Stoffe-Gesetz, NpSG). Annex 1, number 5.2 covers compounds derived from Δ9,10-ergolene, the ring system shared by LSD and LSA. The definition allows hydrogen in each of the variable positions, which takes in LSA itself. Section 3 of the NpSG prohibits trading, placing on the market, manufacturing, bringing into Germany, acquiring and possessing such substances (NpSG).
The act's definition of a preparation excludes "naturally occurring mixtures", and the seeds are not named. Whether whole seeds fall under the act is therefore not settled by the text, and we found no court ruling. Separately, the German food safety authorities list Argyreia nervosa seeds as not suitable for use in food because of their LSD-like effects (BVL list A, in RIVM, 2020).
United Kingdom
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 lists "Lysergamide" in Schedule 2, Part I, which makes LSA a Class A drug, the same class as LSD (legislation.gov.uk). The plant and its seeds are not named. In addition, the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 makes it an offence to supply, or offer to supply, a psychoactive substance for human consumption, and to import one for that purpose (legislation.gov.uk).
United States
Lysergic acid amide is a Schedule III controlled substance under federal law, listed with DEA number 7310 (21 CFR 1308.13(c); DEA list). The DEA lists it as an LSD precursor. The plant and its seeds are not named in the federal schedules. State laws can be stricter; we have not verified them state by state.
Australia
Food Standards Australia New Zealand lists Argyreia nervosa among the prohibited plants in Schedule 23 of the Food Standards Code (in RIVM, 2020). In Queensland the vine is a category 3 restricted invasive plant under the Biosecurity Act 2014: it may not be given away, sold or released into the environment (Business Queensland). We could not verify the federal rules on importing this plant or its seeds for this page.
Belgium and Denmark
Belgium lists Ipomoea species as dangerous plants that may not be used in or as food, and Argyreia nervosa also goes by the synonym Ipomoea speciosa. Denmark considers the plant unacceptable in food because of its ergot alkaloids (both in RIVM, 2020).
Travel and ordering
Rules on the seeds differ even between neighbouring countries, and a product that is legal to sell in one country can be a controlled substance at the border of the next. Do not take seeds or anything made from them across borders, and do not order them into a country where LSA is controlled. The Dutch shop behind this site sells the seeds as botanical specimens for growing the vine; see growing.