Those familiar with the term microdosing in regards to psychedelics, will have some understanding of the possible reasons for undertaking such an endeavour.
For those who are NOT familiar....
Microdosing is the act of taking a tiny dose of a psychedelic substance, way below the threshold dose so that no actual ‘hallucinogenic’ effects are present, yet just enough of a dose to exhibit very subtle shifts in perception.
Known as a sub-perceptual dose, anecdotal evidence suggests that microdosing can offer a variety of benefits, such as potential increases in overall well-being, creativity, mood lifts, energy, focus, and healthier interpersonal relationships.
Albert Hoffman, who first synthesised LSD in the late 30’s, was known to microdose well into his later years of life (he lived to be 102 years old), stating that he’d take sub-perceptual doses while walking amongst trees, which would help clarify his thinking.
Although he was seemingly the first to introduce this to many people (aside from indigenous cultures that had known and used sub-perceptual doses of different psychedelics for centuries)2 , James Fadiman brought more light to the subject with an entire chapter dedicated to microdosing, detailing reports and protocols in his book ‘The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys’.
“Microdosing seems to improve a vast range of conditions” Fadiman stated. “The general response is that they feel better. There is an actual movement towards increased health or wellness… What microdosing seems to do is rebalance people.”
In the article published by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, ‘Psychedelics and Extreme Sports’, James Oroc presented the connection between microdosing LSD, and engaging in extreme sport activities.
“I heard of a hang glider flown tandem off of a mountain top under a full moon with both the pilot and passenger on magic mushrooms, of helicopter skiing in Alaska on acid... and of radical solo rock or ice climbs of the highest intensity performed on equally radically headfulls of psychedelics...
"According to the combined reports of 40 years of use by the extreme sports underground, LSD can increase your reflex time to lightning speed, improve your balance to the point of perfection, increase your concentration until you experience “tunnel vision,” and make you impervious to weakness or pain. LSD’s effects in these regards amongst the extreme-sport community are in fact legendary, universal, and without dispute.
Hold on a second before you go diving into the fiery depths of a volcano with your heat suit and LSD...
While numerous articles and websites are spreading the knowledge and presenting similar anecdotal information (microdosing has been a hot topic for a while now), there’s still a lack of objective scientific evidence into the actual efficacy of these experiments.
As many psychonauts will know, when it comes to the psychedelic experience, objectivity is already a problem when what we experience is subjective in nature.
Perhaps future research in neuroscience will one day provide definitive scientific understanding and showcase the physical mechanisms in the brain that cause the subjective events that we experience. Perhaps it wont.
Either way, it’s difficult to really know how legitimate these anecdotal claims are when we’re talking about a dose that is so minuscule that effects can hardly be perceived, especially when there are so many variables at play that could affect one’s day to day perception.
For now though, to test efficacy, there's one one thing we can really do... Self-experimentation!
