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Psychedelic Microdosing: Prevalence and Subjective Effects
Open accessAbstract
Anecdotal reports suggest that the administration of sub-hallucinogenic doses of psychedelic compounds on a chronic, intermittent schedule – a practice known as psychedelic microdosing – is becoming increasingly popular among young adults due to its purported ability to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety while improving cognitive function and promoting social interaction. Using an anonymous online survey, we collected data from 2347 people to 1) assess the prevalence of psychedelic microdosing and characterize the demographics of microdosers, 2) determine whether microdosers associate the practice with changes in mood, cognitive function, social interaction, or physiology, and 3) investigate frequent motives for discontinuing the practice. Fifty-nine percent of respondents (NT = 2183) reported familiarity with the concept of psychedelic microdosing, with 17% (383 respondents, NT = 2200) having engaged in this practice. Microdosers attributed psychedelic microdosing with improving their mood, decreasing their anxiety, and enhancing their memory, attention, and sociability. The most frequently cited reasons for quitting microdosing (NT = 243) were the risks associated with taking an illegal substance (24.28%) and the difficulty of obtaining psychedelic compounds (22.63%). Overall, our findings suggest that psychedelic microdosing is relatively common and is subjectively associated with a broad spectrum of socio-affective, cognitive, and physical outcomes.
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“therapeutic benefit of low doses of psychedelics remains to be demonstrated in a well-controlled clinical study”
From Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. (2021) · cites this paper as [247]
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“the data on human psychedelic microdosing are equivocal”
From Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. (2021) · cites this paper as [247]
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“Current therapeutics for depression are slow-acting, taking several weeks before demonstrating efficacy, and approximately 1/3 of patients will not respond to them (Rush et al. 2006).”
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“Specifically, psilocybin has been shown to ameliorate end of life anxiety in terminal cancer patients (Griffiths et al. 2016), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has produced positive effects in patients suffering from PTSD (Dunlap, Andrews, and Olson 2018), and the DMT-containing tisane…”
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“…have shown promise as experimental therapeutics in the clinic for treating depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder (Cameron and Olson 2018b; Carhart-Harris and Goodwin 2017; Dos Santos et al. 2016; Kyzar et al. 2017; Mithoefer, Grob, and Brewerton 2016; Nichols, Johnson, and Nichols 2017).”
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
The subjective effects of psychedelics may not be necessary for their enduring therapeutic effects
Olson, D. E. (2021) · ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science · doi:10.1021/acsptsci.0c00192 · Cited by 329
Self-citationPharmacological, neural, and psychological mechanisms underlying psychedelics: A critical review
van Elk, M., & Yaden, D. B. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104793 · Cited by 221
Cameron, L. P., Benson, C. J., DeFelice, B. C., Fiehn, O., & Olson, D. E. (2019) · ACS Chemical Neuroscience · doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00692 · Cited by 168
Self-citationPsychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness.
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Self-citationPositive expectations predict improved mental-health outcomes linked to psychedelic microdosing
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Metadata
- Authors
- Cameron, L. P., Nazarian, A., & Olson, D. E.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Davis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cameron, Lindsay P.
- Olson, David E.
- Venue
- Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2020-01-23
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 113-122
- ISSN
- 0279-1072 (ISSN-L)
- 2159-9777
- PMC
- PMC7282936
- OpenAlex
- W3002125030
- Cited by
- 110
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 7
- FWCI
- 6.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- NIH Office of the Director (T32MH112507)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
- Keywords
- psychedelic microdosing, prevalence, subjective effects, mood, anxiety, cognitive function, memory, sociability, young adults, illicit drug use
- MeSH terms
- Self-Management, Adolescent, Adult, Behavioral Symptoms, Cognition, Hallucinogens, Health Surveys, Humans, Prevalence, Young Adult
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