Psychedelic Microdosing among Young Adults from Southern California

ABSTRACT

Despite common depictions in the media, there is little scientific evidence on microdosing psychedelic drugs. We assessed awareness, prevalence, and dosing practices of microdosing psychedelic drugs among young adults 18–22 years old from Southern California (2018–2019). We examined whether sociodemographic factors, personality traits, mental health, or other substance use behaviors were correlated with having ever microdosed. Among 2,396 participants, 293 (12%) had heard of microdosing and 74 (3%) ever microdosed. Among those who had heard of microdosing, 79% correctly defined microdosing as taking an amount of a psychedelic much lower than a standard dose, whereas 15% misperceived microdosing as a standard psychedelic dose. Psilocybin was the most common drug ever microdosed (70%), followed by lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD, 57%). Among those who ever microdosed, ~18% reported using psychoactive doses far higher than would be generally considered a microdose. White race, male/masculine gender identity, bisexual identity, past 6-month other drug use, greater attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, mindfulness, and sensation-seeking were positively associated with having ever microdosed in multivariable models. Young adult microdosing merits further attention from scientific and public health professionals to help prevent misperceptions and potential adverse consequences as well as explore its potential therapeutic applications.

KEYWORDS:

• LSD
• MDMA
• microdosing
• psychedelics
• psilocybin
• young adults

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under Grant [R01CA229617]; National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under Grant [K01DA058084].

Disclosure statement

PSH was previously in paid advisory relationships with Reset Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Silo Pharma and is currently in paid advisory relationships with the following organizations regarding the development of psychedelics and related compounds: Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd., Eleusis Benefit Corporation, and Journey Colab Corporation.

Supplemental material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2024.2313684

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.