James Fadiman explains that microdosing is a sub perceptual amount of psychedelic taken on a frequent basis, which is believed to provide several benefits without the full psychedelic experience. However, studies have shown that microdosing can cause anxiety in some people.
This podcast discusses a protocol for taking anti-addictive drugs that helps individuals assess the residual effects and avoid addiction issues.
The challenge with dosing for psychedelics is that there isn’t any consistency between products, but methods can include volumetric measuring of a fully dissolved solution for accurate dosing. This is an important practice as many people mistakenly take doses that are too large, instead of “microdosing” as intended.
80 healthy volunteers participated in a six-week LSD microdosing study where they took the first dose in the laboratory and the other 13 doses were taken outside of the laboratory setting. Participants underwent multiple screening sessions before being allowed to participate in the study.
Microdosing can lead to a decreased sense of self and identity, allowing individuals to see things more clearly without judgment or perceptions influenced by their sense of self. This can be interconnected with anxieties, fears, and worries rooted in one's identity.
The lethal dose of LSD (LD50) has never been determined; however, it is estimated to be about 70,000 times the minimum dose, and there have been cases of heart attacks and strokes associated with LSD use but it's unclear if the drug was the direct cause.