MICRODOSING LSD
FEBRUARY 7TH, 2022
Illustrated by: Silvia Alonso Rodriguez.
Microdosing has been a popular topic for a couple of years now. I recently became interested in it when I met Sofia*, who opened up about her experience with microdosing LSD.
We had a casual conversation after one of our classes one day and I decided to interview her to gain some more insights. I was curious why she decided to do it, what she hoped to achieve, and its technicalities.
BUT FIRST: WHAT IS MICRODOSING?
Microdosing LSD describes ingesting a very small dose — around ten micrograms — every day or every couple of days. It first made headlines in 2017 as a practice driving the greatest minds and innovations in Silicon Valley. Initially, people followed the trend to enhance their creativity and productivity. However, as The Guardian reported, there has been an increasing trend of people microdosing to improve their wellbeing and mental health during the pandemic.
It’s important to note that microdosing is not yet very well researched, nor deemed a safe way to tackle mental illness. Substituting it for therapy is equal to sticking a thin bandaid on a deep, oozing wound. Even psychedelic retreats based in the Netherlands do not just blatantly hand people mushrooms. They guide the participants through the experience and encourage them to open up in professional therapy sessions.
Some reservations of a different nature also apply to the ‘first wave’ of microdosing that was popularised in Silicon Valley. I feel there is a contradiction in the approach towards microdosing psychedelics and taking a normal dose. The main idea behind psychedelics is to experience the world in a different way. It’s supposed to be a special learning experience. Microdosing to enhance your performance is, to put it bluntly, a capitalist stripping of the ‘special’ dimension of psychedelics.
But not to get too depressing or critical – evidently, microdosing can truly help some people, as shown in Sofia’s case. Some scientists suppose that LSD has a positive effect on ADHD. The good news is, we’re about to find out if that’s true! In December 2021 a biotech company announced the activation of patient enrolment for a trial of repeated small doses of LSD in adults with ADHD.
INTERVIEW WITH SOFIA
That being said, Sofia’s experience is a first-hand and completely individual report of microdosing LSD. Take from this what you will.
Why did you decide to microdose?
Before moving to Amsterdam, I was always going around. You have this thing of not being focused and you cannot learn anything by the end of the day. You only do half of everything. […]
I was forgetting and losing everything, falling and tripping all the time. Finally, I was able to focus. I did not see my ADHD as a limit, I just thought this is the way I am. I didn’t understand how much it affected me. I thought it was just my [bad] luck.
How did it impact your everyday life?
If I have to explain to people what psychedelics do to the mind, I compare it to stars. So, imagine a lot of stars in your brain that are switched on by a memory or a feeling. These stars connect and usually there is a connection of three stars.
I see a cup that my uncle gave to me and that broke in a weird way but then, with LSD, I see a million connections. A cup is not only a cup but something I could put a candle in, for example. It definitely makes me think more creatively and gives me physical energy to do my everyday stuff.
Were or are there any side effects?
Well, after some time it was hard to see all those connections, you know?
Sometimes, a cup needs to be only a cup if you want to do something with it.
I began feeling jealous of people who believed they knew what was true. For me everything was more complex, so I had to take a break.
Also, I think I developed a tolerance. It just stopped affecting me so much. There are some people who do it in a bad way, for the wrong reasons, but I was never depressed, so it wasn’t a way for me to feel better.
What do you think is most important to keep in mind when you microdose?
It’s hard because there is so much stigma around it and the knowledge is very limited. For example, in the beginning, I cut the carton [laced with LSD] in 10 pieces to get 1/10 of the normal dose. Only later I found out cutting it with scissors is not precise and it’s better to buy it in liquid form.
Also, because LSD is illegal and research on it is limited, it’s important to read as much as possible and make sure it’s safe. I mean, Amsterdam is the only city I know where you can enter a municipality with illegal drugs and actually have them tested. I plan to do that in the future.
SOME CONCLUDING REMARKS
I think it’s safe to say that many people are not scared of psychedelics anymore, but governments are. All many of us secretly want to do is to enjoy psychedelics while listening to Lana del Rey. (Just my personal opinion.)
Still, the normalisation of self-prescribed microdosing as a way to tackle mental health issues is worrying me. In the end, self-prescribed microdosing has little to do with therapy.
It is heart-breaking to me that there are people who want to get help, actually have enough agency to do something about it but can’t access psychological help. Suffice to say, I know from experience, that it is truly easier to get LSD in Amsterdam than long term therapy provided by the university.
They only send you to “professionals” if you have “real” problems. On top of that, they chose to forget that — if we’re lucky to have even found an apartment — your whole payout goes to your landlord so who can afford therapy anyway?
FURTHER READING
If you are looking for reliable information about microdosing, James Fadiman is probably the biggest authority on the topic so look him up. Here are some useful links:
This is an American association for psychedelic studies, they have some useful info on the effects of psychedelics and their usage in therapy: https://maps.org.
Here you can find info about the 2021 research on microdosing and ADHD: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mindmed-initiates-phase-2a-lsd-trial-for-the-treatment-of-adult-adhd-301447252.html
The Guardian article that talks about microdosing and mental health: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/dec/02/people-microdosing-on-psychedelics-to-improve-wellbeing-during-pandemic
*Sofia’s name has been changed to protect her identity.
