A Dose of Mental Health

Many people are microdosing, but scientists are split over whether the benefits of taking small amounts of psychedelic drugs are a placebo effect or something more

- By Dana G. Smith

FIVE YEARS AGO Joseph was struggling. I was just kind of in this depression, in this rut, he says. I was unhappy and angry and agitated all the time, and it went against the way that I saw myself.

Depression and anxiety run in Joseph's family, and he'd been prescribed Prozac as a kid. But when symptoms of depression returned in his early 30s, he didn't want to go back to a prescription drug.

Joseph, an Austin-based designer (he asked to withhold his full name), came across research from Johns Hopkins University about psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic, or magic, mushrooms. In a small study, full doses of the drug helped cancer patients cope with depression and anxiety. Then he read anecdotes of Silicon Valley influencers claiming increased energy from taking tiny doses of psychedelics. So he decided to start microdosing a few times a week, eating a small nibble of mushrooms to see if it would improve his mood.

Almost immediately he started seeing a benefit. It just kind of boosted my morale, he says. I was in a little bit better mood. I had a little bit more pep to my step. I was having a little bit more fun, feeling a little bit more excited about things.

Microdosing is typically defined by experts as taking 5 to 10 percent of a full dose of a psychedelic, usually LSD or psilocybin, as a way to get the supposed mental health benefits of the drug without the hallucinogenic high. For instance, in a clinical setting, a 155-pound man might take 20 milligrams of psilocybin for a full psychedelic experience. For a microdose, he'd take only 1 to 2 milligrams. At that level, taken several times a week, some people claim the drugs improve their mood, boost their creativity, and give the world a brighter, shinier quality, as if it's in high definition.