What You Need To Know About Microdosing

According to the World Health Organisation, depression affects close to 300 million people worldwide, with an estimated increase of 25% since the pandemic began. Looking at these figures and factoring in that many cases are deemed to be treatment-resistant alongside the fact that we spent the majority of the past two years isolating alone at home, and you can see why there’s an increase in people searching for alternative solutions to their mental health struggles. Cue the chatter surrounding microdosing.

Microdosing involves taking very small doses of psychedelic drugs – most commonly psilocybin ‘magic’ mushrooms or LSD on a semi-regular schedule in order to experience reported benefits such as alleviated anxiety and depression as well as improved creativity. In dosages not designed to get you high, make you trip or hallucinate, like the ways we traditionally hear of them being used in recreational settings, reports state that microdosing sees users go about their everyday lives, but in an increased state of perception. Steve Jobs, cofounder and previous CEO of Apple, once stated that taking LSD was a ‘profound experience’ and one of the most important in his life as it reinforced his sense of ‘what was important’. But it’s not just Silicon Valley tech heads that have followed in his footsteps – albeit taking less earth shattering quantities like Jobs did in the 70s – to unlock creativity, excel in meetings and feel less depressed, nowadays it’s usage is on the rise with everyone from college students to stay-at-home moms, doctors to graphic designers with a peaked interest and desire to dabble.

But bear in mind, this is still an illegal practice in Ireland. If a person is in possession of a controlled drug without a prescription for either personal use, to sell or supply they are committing an offence under the Misuse Use of Drugs Act 1977 as amended. As of January 31st 2006 this act was amended by Tanaiste and Minister for Health at the time, Mary Harney to include magic mushrooms, banning the sale and possession of those containing the psychoactive drug psilocibin – which is a popular choice for microdosing – in both its raw and processed state.

So it’s interesting to see that 16 years later we’re still seeing a surge in people willing to break the law to take matters into their own hands, in desperate hope of finding a solution to better mental health. Why is that? Well, one arguably obvious reason could be the fact that more than 10,800 people are waiting to see a psychologist in Ireland – with more than half waiting for over a year, according to The HSE Performance Report for January to March 2021. Ireland also has the third highest rate of mental health illness in Europe, and when you combine overcrowded public health services with a high demand of those in need of them, you can understand people’s frustration and push to search elsewhere. Again, cue the buzz word microdosing and specifically, one trial currently being carried out in Tallaght Hospital led by doctors from Trinity College Dublin on the very subject of magic mushrooms – assessing its effectiveness in the treatment of severe depression.

Over the years there has been very little scientific research conducted to back the practice of microdosing. Many Reddit threads and users online are quick to give their say, praise the mushroom and shed advice for those willing to give it a go, but little official research means the method’s therapeutic effects remains inconclusive. In March 2020, researchers at the Imperial College London found that microdosing’s reported benefits could be attributed to a placebo effect, and this is one that is often cited by experts in the field. But with more research will hopefully come greater understanding and Dr John Kelly is one of the lead researchers behind the ongoing trials in Dublin. With the study now in its third phase, Irish patients in this trial are one of several studies being conducted on psychedelics across the world.

Becoming part of history and hopefully bringing more understanding and light to the subject. Dr John Kelly who’s leading the Irish study at Tallaght Hospital admits he’s ‘not yet convinced by the data’ that sees microdosing having any better effect than placebo. However, Kelly does believe that psilocybin when administered in macrodoses – larger 25mg doses – in the context of psychological support does provide positive outcomes, as reported so far in the trial. “Ideally people would just have one positive psilocybin therapy experience alongside psychological support and that would last them for quite a period of time, which is in direct contrast to the microdosing we talked about earlier. So I see it going that way in the context of therapy,” says Dr Kelly. However, to ever get to that point, there’s still a long way to go, with Kelly adding that how long a single psilocybin macrodose lasts for each patient is yet to be determined, as well as what the safe interval between these doses is like, noting that it could vary from person to person and that the follow up trials will be really important to determine this.

Unlike various illegal drugs whereby we think of conversations surrounding them happening through car windows, in club toilets and on street corners, the discussion surrounding mushrooms is definitely more open. Recent TV shows like Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers alongside popular YouTubers vlogging their experiences has brought the topic more mainstream. People are curious, be it out of interest, scepticism or fear, and they want to know more about the spore-bearing, soil-bound fungus.

Host of Red Room podcast Jenny Claffey has openly chatted about her experiences microdosing magic mushrooms both on her podcast and YouTube channel. Starting her journey in November 2021, Jenny was aware of the research on magic mushrooms and their reported therapeutic qualities for quite some time. Deciding at first to try microdosing as an “experiment” and content for her show, Jenny later realised it was a practice she would be integrating into her life for the long run.

“When you microdose you do one month on, one month off and I have just finished my second month on,” explains Jenny. “I immediately felt very real changes in my sleep, creativity and productivity. You take your microdose on every third day and on those days it’s like you had the best cup of coffee ever, without the jitters and no anxiety. At first I was happy even if this was a placebo, however on my months off I have definitely noticed that the effects were never real.” Continuing, Jenny adds “I think the larger culture is rethinking how a lot of drugs can be used to our benefit, like MDMA, LSD and psilocybin. We have to keep our minds adaptive to new research and how some drugs have been framed as “the bad guy” while others, like alcohol, are framed as harmless – which we know is not true.”

 

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So, what does the future look like? Could we see psychedelics in mainstream medicine? It’s certainly looking like we’re taking a step in that direction, but many hurdles like regulation, education and awareness still provide a challenging climb ahead for the industry. And with no legal regulations currently in place to protect the interests of the public, Dr Kelly urges people to go down more ‘evidence based routes’ as opposed to microdosing. Noting that people cannot guarantee what they’re getting and here is where problems could potentially arise.

Overall, there’s definitely a sense of optimism for what lies ahead, a world where GPs could recommend psychedelics? Are we ready for that? Whatever the outcome might be, it looks set to be an interesting trip.

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