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Research suggests that microdosing psilocybin has well and truly hit the mainstream. Microdosing in Canada is more commonplace than it has ever been, thanks in no small part to a fast-growing shroom dispensary network spreading across the country.
Anyone wishing to buy shrooms in Canada now also has the option of ordering online, further increasing the popularity of microdosing mushrooms.
But what few involved fail to realize is that microdosing is anything but a new phenomenon. Whether getting into psychedelics for the first time or something of a seasoned veteran, getting to know a thing or two about the whole microdosing thing really can enhance and enrich the experience.
What is Psychedelic Microdosing?
The basic idea behind microdosing is that when psychedelics and psychoactive substances are consumed in extremely small quantities, they can have a variety of beneficial effects. Both in terms of their therapeutic and recreational applications alike, simply reducing the amount you take puts you in complete control of the outcome.
Microdosing has become particularly popular for its potential to regulate serotonin production and balance other important chemicals and hormones in the body. Of course, psychedelics have also been associated with enhanced innovation and creativity throughout history.
To such an extent that many (if not most) of the world’s most famous and celebrated artistic accomplishments would probably never have occurred, in the absence of psychedelics.
It’s just that today, people are more carefully moderating their intake. And in doing so, enjoying microdosing in ways that go far beyond getting as high as you possibly can.
A Brief History of Microdosing
Microdosing may be the craze of the moment sweeping Canada, but it’s a concept that’s actually been around for more than 500 years. There’s evidence to suggest that psilocybin in small doses was being used for a variety of purposes all the way back in the 16th century.
The Aztecs were noted consumers of psilocybin – microdosing as a commonplace practice subsequently disappeared at the same time as the Aztec population.
It wasn’t until much later in the 1940s that psychedelics as we know them today came to be. At least, in the sense of manmade psychedelics like LSD, which wasn’t invented until 1943. At the time, it was theorized that LSD could be used for a wide variety of practical purposes.
Nevertheless, LSD would subsequently become little more than a popular recreational drug, which most people used with the intention of taking the psychedelic trip of a lifetime. It wasn’t widely utilized for any particularly useful or therapeutic purposes, nor did those who got their hands on it have much of an interest in microdosing.
Even today, the use of LSD is more commonly associated with getting incredibly high than as a practical lifestyle substance.
Does Microdosing Work?
The debate as to whether or not microdosing works is, to a large extent at least, pointless. This is because you cannot logically or rationally debate the potential benefits of something that affects different people in different ways.
Talk to some and they’ll tell you that since they started microdosing mushrooms, they’ve become better parents, better partners, better professionals and better people. All without ever feeling remotely intoxicated or taking any irresponsible risks whatsoever.
By contrast, others will tell you that after experimenting with magic mushrooms, they’ve no intention of doing the same again. Or that perhaps they’re great for a good time, but not exactly practical in an everyday lifestyle sense.
As a result, there’s no immediate consensus among scientists and researchers as to whether or not microdosing ‘works’ from a formal scientific perspective. For the record, microdosing in the official sense means the following:
- The administration of psychedelics in significantly lower doses than normal, so far below the conceptual threshold that the individual’s general functioning and cognitive capacity are not reduced or adversely affected.
- As a rule of thumb, microdosing refers to the consumption of no more than 10% or even 5% of the typical recreational dose.
- Microdosing often has little to no immediate impact after the first dose for many users – the benefits builds towards a more cumulative effect after multiple sessions with adequate breaks between – usually a 2 to 3 times per week.
- The purpose of microdosing is not to get high, but to improve everyday wellbeing and alleviate feelings of stress, anxiety, worry and general discontent.
The important distinction here is the way in which microdosing by no means concerns the consumption of psychedelics with the intention of getting high. It’s a completely different application for magic mushrooms and psylocibin products – one that targets improved wellbeing for purely practical reasons.
Going on purely anecdotal evidence alone, there’s overwhelming support for the potential therapeutic benefits of microdosing. At least, when the right products are consumed in the right quantities.
Research Remains at a Remedial Level
The lack of formal evidence to support the potential benefits of microdosing has nothing to do with the efficacy of psylocibin and everything to do with insufficient research. There simply haven’t been enough intensive or long-term studies carried out for scientists, researchers and medical professionals to reach anything close to a consensus.
However, many of the more open minded experts are slowly but surely acknowledging the fact that microdosing could indeed be a safe and beneficial therapeutic practice with a long list of potential applications.
