Humans are always looking to enhance their mood, and drugs are one of the most accessible ways to do that. Many of us start our day with a big cup of one of the world’s most accepted drugs, caffeine, and enjoy a glass of another favorite, alcohol, in the evening. Some of us might turn to prescription drugs to temporarily boost our mood, but other types of drugs — taken in an unusual way — are becoming more popular, thanks to microdosing.
Microdosing involves taking a very low, sub-hallucinogenic (as in so tiny you don’t consciously notice the effect) dose of a psychedelic drug — often psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, or lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD. It’s possible to microdose with other drugs, such as mescaline or even THC (an active ingredient in cannabis), too.
Naturally occurring psychedelics like psilocybin-containing mushrooms and mescaline-containing cacti have long been used in Indigenous cultures for both spiritual and wellness purposes. These compounds, and others, were widely studied in the 1960s before being made illegal.
Today, a new generation of the psychedelic-curious are exploring microdosing as a way to enhance their mental health and well-being, and in some cases, to help with health problems that traditional medicine doesn’t have a solution for.
What Is a Microdose?
A microdose is a dose that is one-tenth to one-twentieth of a recreational psychedelic dose (sometimes referred to as a macrodose), according to a research article published in March 2021 in the journal eLife. In comparison to a recreational dose, a microdose is much smaller.
Though mushrooms and LSD are the most common drugs used to microdose, scientists are also studying whether microdoses — and at what amounts — of cannabinoids, MDMA, ritalin, ketamine, and other substances may offer similar benefits.
Obtaining microdoses can be done in several ways. Given the popularity of this trend, an abundance of illicit online retailers have cropped up in the last few years, and it’s hard to know for certain what these retailers are providing. Some North American cities, including Vancouver and Toronto, Canada, and Oakland, California, are home to retail storefronts that operate in a legal gray area, giving customers the opportunity to see what they’re purchasing before they commit.
Arguably the safest way to source psilocybin mushrooms is to grow them at home. Some people prefer to make their own microdoses using a scale and a capsule-filling machine.
The science on the efficacy and safety of microdosing is still emerging. So if you choose to try it, know that there are health risks, especially if you're doling out doses yourself. It’s best to consult your therapist or healthcare provider before you start microdosing. Just be prepared that they may not have all the answers and you might have to seek a second (or third) opinion.
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How Does Microdosing Work?
Microdosing can be done in many different formats, including in capsules, gummies, tinctures, teas, infusions, chocolates, and simply as dried mushrooms. LSD, which can be more potent than psilocybin, depending on the dose, is often dissolved in water or alcohol to create a diluted solution intended for microdosing.
While most prescription drugs, supplements, and vitamins are recommended to be taken daily, microdosing is typically done every second, third, or fourth day, or less frequently, depending on the protocol a person decides to follow.
Some popular protocols include the Fadiman Protocol, a three-day cycle that is followed for four to eight weeks — named after researcher James Fadiman, PhD, who is often referred to as “the father of microdosing, and the Stamets Stack — named after renowned mycologist Paul Stamets — which involves combining psilocybin-containing mushrooms with Lion’s Mane, an adaptogenic mushroom, and vitamin B3, according to the Microdosing Institute.
Drugs like psilocybin and LSD are referred to as classic serotonergic psychedelics because they interact with serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in the brain. Psilocybin and LSD target these receptors and trigger physiological responses associated with serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps stabilize your mood and promotes feelings of well-being.
The hallucinogenic effects associated with psychedelics are thought to emerge through the stimulation of these receptors, but with microdosing, the doses are low enough that you won’t experience any hallucinations and will still reap their mood-stabilizing benefits.
Early investigations into microdosing’s efficacy have shown that it may have positive effects on mental health.
Taking a day or two off between microdoses “allows the system to readjust,” Dr. Fadiman told me when I interviewed him for my book Psyched: Seven Cutting-Edge Psychedelics Changing the World in 2021.
Fadiman’s research indicates that for some people, microdosing tends to have a two-day phenomenon, meaning the positive effects of a microdose last beyond just one day. People have reported feeling the clarity and stability they associate with their microdose more than a day later. The day off in between provides a reset, he explains.
Fadiman says the most common effect people experience is “more time feeling happy.” Other microdosing benefits that people have reported, though they warrant further study, include increased creativity, reduced craving for caffeine and cigarettes, decreased menstrual cramps, and improved productivity. Simply put, people reported that they had an increased capacity to get things done and less anxiety about making decisions.
Microdosing’s Potential for Improved Mental Health
Some people who microdose do so as an alternative to taking prescription mental health medication. Particularly among people who are defined as “treatment resistant” (meaning traditional interventions used to treat their depression haven’t been successful), psilocybin has been shown to help reduce symptoms of depression in conjunction with talk therapy.
A small study published in December 2022 in the journal The Lancet involving 52 participants found that a single, moderate dose of psilocybin significantly reduced symptoms of depression in participants with major depressive disorder, with no serious adverse events (a few participants reported mild headaches and dizziness). While the doses used in this study were not microdoses, it’s this antidepressant effect of psilocybin that microdosing enthusiasts often seek.
Other early investigations into microdosing’s efficacy have shown that it may have positive effects on mental health. For example, a systematic study published in February 2019 in the journal PLoS One found that microdosing may help with reducing symptoms of depression and stress in those with no reported history of or current diagnosis of a mood, anxiety, or psychotic disorder.
Microdoses of LSD were found to have analgesic, or pain-reducing, effects, according to a research article published in August 2020 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. A more recent study, published in November 2021 in the journal Scientific Reports, found that adults who microdosed were motivated by health and wellness, and those who reported mental health concerns had lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress than non-microdosers.
Psilocybin has also shown some promise for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, but more research and clinical trials are needed, according to NYU Langone Health.
Victoria Sterkin, PhD, is a therapist who works with people who are following a psilocybin microdosing protocol. “We get a lot of people who are new to psychedelics — they’ve read Michael Pollan’s book [How to Change Your Mind] or they’ve seen the Netflix special Fantastic Fungi and think, ‘This might help me,’” she tells DailyOM. “Those people typically want their hand held a bit more in the beginning.”
Dr. Sterkin guides her clients through a microdosing protocol, helping them to integrate what they learn about themselves along the way. She notes that 85 to 90 percent of her clients are seeking relief from mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, after trials with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were unsuccessful. Often a client will experience a greater capacity for their own emotions and handling tough experiences.
“People aren’t saying, ‘I don’t feel sad anymore, I don’t feel anxious anymore.’ What they’re saying is, ‘I’m able to observe myself in a way where I can work with my emotion, instead of feeling like I can’t handle my emotion,’” Sterkin says.
Common Reasons People Microdose
There are many reasons people are exploring microdosing, including:
- Boosting creativity
- Increasing focus
- Improving mood
- Treating anxiety and depression
- Alternative to SSRIs
- Quitting alcohol or other drugs, or exploring a sober-curious lifestyle
- For a host of health-related concerns.
Paul Austin is an entrepreneur and the founder of Third Wave, an online resource that provides readers with comprehensive information about psychedelic drugs. Austin is a huge proponent of microdosing and was recognized as “the world’s first online LSD microdosing coach” by Rolling Stone in 2017. He has microdosed with different psychedelics at different times in his life.
“I wanted more creative potential, more productivity, better focus, better attention, more motivation,” Austin tells DailyOM of his first foray into microdosing with LSD in 2015. He followed a protocol by taking LSD twice a week for seven months, and found that not only did it improve his mood and productivity, but it also helped him avoid alcohol in social settings.
Microdosing is not intended to be done on a long-term basis — not to say that it couldn’t be, but many people find they don’t need to microdose long-term. Someone might complete a six-week cycle of microdosing and then decide to stop indefinitely, while others might revisit the practice as they see fit (perhaps during periods of high stress or low mood). We don’t yet have research to show how long an ideal microdosing protocol should be.
“I look at microdosing as an accelerant for healing and transformation,” Austin says. “I’ve used psychedelics to heal from a lot of guilt and shame. I’ve also found them to be incredible tools for becoming a better communicator and being more mindful about my lifestyle.”
Cesar Marin is a 55-year-old former CNN producer who started microdosing with psilocybin in 2022 after losing his job of 25 years. Struggling with anxiety, escapism, and self-doubt, he discovered that microdosing allowed him to be more mindful of — and eventually stop — his habitual use of cannabis. He’s since become an advocate for psilocybin and has launched an apparel company to create dialogue around microdosing called Cultivating Wisdom, offering T-shirts and hats with slogans like “Mush love” and “This is your brain on psilocybin.”
“People used to fear [psychedelics] because they were afraid they would change your mind,” Marin tells DailyOM. “That message wasn’t wrong, but the tone was. They will change your mind. That’s the point … if done with intention, there’s some beautiful healing that can go on.”
Where Is Microdosing Legal?
Psychedelic drugs including psilocybin and LSD remain Schedule I substances in the United States, meaning they are illegal at the federal level. However, a handful of jurisdictions throughout the country have decriminalized their use, such as Denver; Oakland; Seattle; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Washington, D.C. While psilocybin has recently been legalized in Oregon, it’s not clear how microdosing fits into the picture just yet.
Psilocybin mushrooms grow on every continent in the world and are more available in some countries than others. In a handful of countries, including Jamaica, psilocybin is legal for personal consumption but not for sale. In the Netherlands, psilocybin is available legally in the form of truffles, a fungi.
The federal illegality of psilocybin-containing mushrooms does not prevent people from obtaining them online — either as whole mushrooms or in premade capsules or chocolates — or growing them at home. That’s one reason some health experts are concerned about microdosing: It can be difficult to know what dosage you’re getting when you’re DIY-ing.
Again, the research around microdosing is still growing, and there are many unknowns, so if you are interested in incorporating it into your own treatment plan, stay updated on the research and reach out to experts in this field to help you make an informed decision.
Recently the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued draft guidelines for scientists investigating psychedelic drugs, which will hopefully spur further research in this growing field. It will also take time and more research before we can come to a conclusion about its efficacy, as well as the appropriate dosage and duration of treatment for best results. (To explore current clinical trials, you can visit the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research.)
Is It the Placebo Effect?
Though many scientists are enthusiastic about microdosing, other researchers aren’t convinced that microdosing itself has any impact on one’s mental health. They have raised the question of the placebo effect in microdosing, wondering whether the positive hype associated with it might play a role in how people are being affected by what they’re taking.
For example, the largest placebo-controlled trial on psychedelics, published in March 2021 in the journal eLife, used a novel self-blinding design in which participants were able to dose themselves without knowing whether they were taking an active microdose (either psilocybin or LSD) or a placebo. While some researchers questioned the methodology, the study found that the psychological benefits people were experiencing were “likely the results of users’ expectations.”
Matt Wall, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist and honorary senior lecturer at Imperial College London, has studied the therapeutic mechanisms of psilocybin for people suffering from treatment-resistant depression. While he’s trying to keep an open mind about microdosing, he tells DailyOM he’s not optimistic.
“The studies that have been done show the same result, which is that microdosing is not different from placebo,” he says. “The placebo effect is so powerful, and the effect of expectancy with these drugs, given all the hype around it, is also powerful. People are clearly going into this with a great deal of expectation and hope.”
Dr. Wall says that in theory, it would be possible to conduct better placebo-controlled studies on microdosing, but a few challenges stand out to him.
“First of all, there’s no real agreement about what actually constitutes a microdose,” he says. Time is also a barrier. He suggests that to understand the real impact of a microdosing protocol, participants would need to be tracked for six months to a year.
Whether or not the placebo effect is at play, Wall believes it’s unlikely a microdose is having any impact on the brain. “From a neuroscience perspective, everything we know about most drugs suggests that they don’t work like that,” he says.
Some people may be better off waiting for further research before considering microdosing. Many of microdosing’s benefits remain anecdotal, as the body of research behind the practice is still growing. Studies show that there are potential risks to using psilocybin if you’re someone with a mental health condition, such as bipolar disorder, although these studies have yet to consider microdosing.
Possible risks to heart health are also being studied. And though many users, such as Paul Austin, say microdosing helped with focus and mood, a small percentage of people say they actually experienced less energy, increased stress, and reduced focus and increased anxiety when microdosing.
For Fadiman, Austin, Marin, Sterkin, and the thousands of others with anecdotal experiences, microdosing represents a powerful alternative to the standard mental health treatment model, and perhaps even a tool for cultivating personal growth. But for scientists like Wall, there’s still plenty of work to be done to understand the growing trend.
Medically reviewed: July 18, 2023, Seth J. Gillihan, PhD
