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Might Microdosing Psychedelics Be Safe and Beneficial? An Initial Exploration
Abstract
Albert Hoffman suggested that low doses of LSD might be an appropriate alternative to Ritalin. Following this possibility, a systematic exploration of the effects of "microdoses," comprising hundreds of lengthy descriptive reports, was undertaken. Based on these reports, using a psychedelic in the microdose range (10 micrograms) every three days was determined to be safe across a wide variety of individuals and conditions. Over 18 months, more than a thousand individuals from 59 countries did a daily evaluation of negative and positive emotional state using the PANAS checklist plus written reports for between one week and four months. Participant reports suggested that spaced but repeated microdoses were followed by improvements in negative moods, especially depression, and increases in positive moods. Increased energy, improved work effectiveness, and improved health habits were observed in clinical and non-clinical populations. Smaller samples described alleviation of symptoms in migraine headaches, pre-menstrual syndromes, traumatic brain injury, shingles, and other conditions not previously associated with psychedelic use.
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“Survey research has shown that some adults diagnosed with ADHD report using low, sub-hallucinogenic doses of psychedelic substances repeatedly, referred to as microdosing (MD), to self-treat their symptoms and as such to improve daily life functioning (4–7).”
From Trait mindfulness and personality characteristics in a microdosing ADHD sample: a naturalistic prospective survey study (2023) · cites this paper as [4]
Citations
Cites
Real-World Evidence — What Is It and What Can It Tell Us?
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Advances in Psychedelic Medicine
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Items 101–124 of 124
Chen, B. K., LaGamma, C. T., Xu, X., Deng, S., Brachman, R. A., Suckow, R. F., Cooper, T. B., Landry, D. W., & Denny, C. A. (2019) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/712752 · Cited by 1
Journey To The Centre Of The Mind: Psychedelic Treatment of Mental Health in Aotearoa
Lutyens, D. (2023) · Open Access Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka (Figshare) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.21904854 · Cited by 2
Enriquez‐Geppert, S., Krc, J., O'Higgins, F., & Lietz, M. P. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/jqasf · Cited by 1
Well-Being and the Outdoors: An Environmentalism Study Among a Religious Student Population
Pires-Gifford, L., Hoffmann, S., Arroyo, E., Jones, N., Waite, B., & Wright, R. R. (2022) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn27.3.185
Wright, R. R., Treadwell, K. R. H., & Hughes, J. L. (2022) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn27.3.223 · Cited by 1
Tendencias y experiencias del consumo de microdosis de hongos psilocibios en Colombia
Suárez, C., Quintero, S., & Gil, J. M. C. (2023) · Cultura y Droga · doi:10.17151/culdr.2023.28.35.7 · Cited by 1
Investigación sobre microdosificación con hongos psilocibios: un artículo de reflexión
Duque, L. (2023) · Cultura y Droga · doi:10.17151/culdr.2023.28.35.3
Wang, V. S., & Silberstein, S. D. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-24705-7.00015-6
Microdosing Psychedelics as a Promising New Pharmacotherapeutic
Kuypers, K. P. C. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-61992-2_26
Totomanova, I., Haijen, E. C. H. M., Hurks, P. P. M., Ramaekers, J. G., & Kuypers, K. P. C. (2025) · International review of neurobiology · doi:10.1016/bs.irn.2025.03.002
Gunten, M. V., Russell, T., Stirland, I., Parks, S., Jenkins, T. G., & Edwards, J. G. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.06.12.658958
“It Fueled the Fire to Who I Am Now”: Exploring Motivations for Microdosing Psychedelics
Beaton, B. (2025) · Journal of Drug Issues · doi:10.1177/00220426251395178
Murphy, R. J., Wardlaw, M., Smith, T., Noorani, T. N., Evans, W., Reynolds, L., Menkes, D. B., Sumner, R. L., & Muthukumaraswamy, S. D. (2025) · Journal of Humanistic Psychology · doi:10.1177/00221678251382624
m-DASC: Measuring Subjective Effects of Very Low Doses of Psychedelic Drugs
Griffin-Stolbach, J., Molla, H. M., Hedeker, D., & de Wit, H. (2025) · Psychedelic Medicine · doi:10.1177/28314425251404476
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Banzato, M., Colognesi, M., Lucatello, L., Comai, S., Pasut, G., Capolongo, F., Orian, L., Biasutto, L., Signor, A., Gabbia, D., et al. (2026) · Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c01797
Meshkat, S., Jha, M. K., & Bhat, V. (2026) · FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.focus.20250043
Classic Psychedelics for Treating Chronic Pain: Mechanism and Clinical Translation
Chen, H., Ke, B., & Jiang, R. (2026) · Molecules · doi:10.3390/molecules31152611
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Psychedelic renaissance in healthcare: between the biomedical and the existential
Laforest, D. (2026) · Medical Humanities · doi:10.1136/medhum-2025-013688
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Metadata
- Authors
- Fadiman, J., & Korb, S.
- Affiliations
- Sofia University (US)
- College Street Women's Centre for Health Education & Counselling, Toronto Ontario, Canada
- Corresponding author
- Fadiman, James
- Venue
- Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-03-15
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 118-122
- ISSN
- 0279-1072 (ISSN-L)
- 2159-9777
- OpenAlex
- W2926011243
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 8
- FWCI
- 16.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Keywords
- microdosing, psychedelics, LSD, safety, mood, depression, positive emotions, energy, work effectiveness, health habits, migraine, premenstrual syndrome, traumatic brain injury, herpes zoster, anecdotes
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Affect, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Emotions, Hallucinogens, Humans, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, Middle Aged, Young Adult
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