So What is Microdosing?
Curious to consider it at some point? Here are my findings.
Microdosing is when you take a small amount of a psychedelic substance on a regular basis. You’ve probably heard of this in regards to psilocybin mushrooms, but it can also refer to other substances like LSD, Mescaline (Peyote), or even Cannabis.
I was interested to look further into this after watching “Fantastic Fungi,” the fantastic new film released recently on Netflix. It got me seriously wondering if it’s worth trying, for your average person like me.
What really caught my attention was the theory that our primate ancestors’ brains grew so greatly in a relatively short period of time due to regular consumption of psychedelic mushrooms.
What they suggest is that this could have been enough to create a huge shift into our consciousness and the way our brains work!
Though I’m not sure if this theory is widely accepted, it brought up so many questions in my mind. Are we missing out on evolutionary leaps and bounds by stopping consumption of these substances? Why don’t scientists do a study to see if IQ increases after regular microdosing? Would my dog become self aware if I started sneaking mushrooms in her food?! (Please don’t poison your dog…I’m just sharing one of my wild thoughts.)
Reported Benefits:
- Sharpens the senses
- Better concentration
- Greater energy
- Heightens self-awareness
- Increases creativity
- Increases productivity
- Greater motivation
- Calms anxiety
- Reduces depression
- Heightened emotional connections with others
- Greater sense of presence
- Less inhibited by fears
- Greater access to unconscious information
- Helps with addiction and eating disorders
- Virtually no risk of a bad trip, psychosis or other acute experiences
Potential Risks:
- Anxiety
- Paranoia
- Upset stomach
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Mild hallucinations (occurred in some men with color blindness)
- Long-term potential for heart valve function (from consumption of even small amounts of LSD)
How Would You Go About Getting Started?
Like…is this legal? If so where do you get access to it?
A very quick search led me to find out that psilocybin is still a Schedule I illicit substance in the USA. Oregon has recently decriminalized small amounts of drugs including magic mushrooms, LSD, etc.
If you’re wondering, like me, how the terminal cancer patients were able to be treated with it during a study, the answer is that the DEA sometimes issues select licenses for the scientific use and study of psilocybin.
So, the answer of “how to get it” is, you essentially would need to purchase it from a “street dealer” or order it illegally online but then possess and use it in a city (i.e. Denver, CO) or state (i.e. Oregon) that has decriminalized it.
How Much is Too Much?
Reportedly microdosing involves taking about one-tenth of the “trip” dose of a psychedelic drug. But how much is really too much?
Since a regular “trip” dose of psilocybin is considered to be 3 grams, a microdose is around .33 grams. One user writes to be careful not to exceed about 0.4 grams or one might begin to feel the psychedelic effects. But other sources actually recommend starting low and slowly increasing dosage each month of use.
I couldn’t find a general consensus on how often to consume the doses. One user reports consuming one microdose every 3 days with a break every other month. As with all things, it is different for every person.
It is interesting to note that magic mushrooms are among the safest recreational drugs based on reported rates of emergency medical treatment. It ranks extremely low on toxicity, meaning it is almost impossible to overdose. Danger to others is virtually nonexistent and danger to self is extremely low as well. They are neither physically addictive or shown to cause psychological dependence.
So what do you think? Would you support the movement to legalize therapeutic or recreational use of psilocybin? Would you even consider microdosing yourself?
