A couple weeks ago, I published a video comparing the differences
between microdosing psilocybin mushrooms and microdosing
LSD. In that video,
I asked you guys if you wanted to see a separate FAQ video
just about microdosing LSD and a bunch of you said yes,
so here we are. This video is going to be formatted in similar
fashion to my magic mushroom FAQ video in that every question
is going to have its own video chapter.
So if you're pressed for time, I would encourage you to just
skip ahead to the section that interests you. (Although it'd
be awesome
if you could stick around for everything!) Starting with
number one:
What is LSD? LSD is a synthetic hallucinogenic compound that
was discovered in the late 1930s and became one of the most
researched drugs in the 50s and 60s. Taken at standard to
high doses, LSD is known for its ability to vividly distort
the senses and produce an altered state of consciousness.
Although this
drug is traditionally used for recreational and spiritual purposes,
there have been a number of notable people in the 20th century
who have credited LSD for helping them achieve creative breakthroughs.
These people include Steve Jobs, the guy who discovered DNA,
and prolific writers like Aldous Huxley. In addition to all
of that,
there is also a growing number of people who use LSD in small
doses to enhance their everyday lives.
This practice is called "microdosing" and it involves taking
about 1/10th to 1/20th of a standard dose. At this
level, you can benefit from the cognitive enhancing properties
of LSD without the sensory altering setbacks of a standard
dose. For this reason, microdosing has become a popular nootropic
- especially among Silicon Valley types.
Why do you microdose LSD?
I've been microdosing LSD for over a month now and I feel
like it helps my creative process. Every video I make is the
result of hours upon hours of researching, filming, editing, and
thumbnail-making. I do everything myself. To come back
week after week and find the inspiration
to do the same thing over and over again without
compromising on quality? That takes a lot of energy and creativity
and I feel like this process is made easier with the help
of microdosing.
How do you microdose? LSD comes in mainly two forms.
There's a liquid form and a blotter paper form, which involves
little tabs of paper on which LSD is evenly distributed.
The paper form is the more popular version,
so I'm going to address this question as though this is the
version that we're dealing with. Here is how you measure it.
There are two ways. The first way involves taking a tab
and cutting it up into approximate microdoses.
Please use tweezers because you don't want to handle the
tabs with your fingertips.
Of course, let's say you have a tab that contains a hundred
micrograms of LSD. For our microdose,
you're going to want approximately 1/10th of that amount.
To get that amount, cut your tab into even slices of 1/8th's. 1/8th
of 100 micrograms is 12.5 micrograms. You can stop there
but just so you know, 12.5 micrograms is on the
higher end for a microdose.
Feel free to cut it further into 2s.
Into slices of 2s to get about 6 micrograms per slice. Place a slice
on your tongue and hold your tongue to the roof of your mouth
for five to ten minutes and then swallow. That's method number
one. Method number two involves submerging your tab of paper
into a precise amount of distilled water. Begin by measuring
your distilled water into an even amount.
If you're dealing with tabs of a hundred micrograms, you'll
want 100 ml of distilled water.
(I was going to say "about" but you need a precise amount here.)
Avoid using tap water because it contains contaminants
that can interact with the LSD. Next, pour your water into
an opaque resealable container and make sure your container
is a 100% opaque so that it can block out light.
Drop the tabs of LSD into your container. Seal it and shake
well for 2 minutes. Cover the container and place it into
the refrigerator for 24 hours.
The LSD will evenly distribute itself. When you're ready, use
a dropper to pick up the precise amount of LSD want. Squirt
it into your mouth. Swish it for five minutes and swallow.
Clearly, the second method is more tedious than the first. But
the benefit of doing it this way is that you get greater
precision. I personally use the first method because I'm
lazy and I don't really have a need for a perfect consistency
every single day.
My days don't call for that.
(But also because I'm lazy.) How big is a microdose? 7 to
12 micrograms.
How long did the effects last? 10 to 12 hours,
so I would recommend that you take your dose early in the
morning. The effects of the LSD will kick in within 20 minutes
of ingestion, making it pretty fast acting.
How does a microdose of LSD make you feel? It makes me feel
energetic and extrospective. Not only does it stimulate
me, but it makes me feel like I want to take that stimulation
and channel it into something productive.
Even when I walk my dog, I tend to notice the colors of the
trees a little more vividly. Something you guys might not
know about me is that I've been diagnosed with ADD.
This is something I take medication for but on days
I microdose LSD,
I don't take my ADD meds because I don't feel like I need
to. Microdosing helps me manage my ADD symptoms, which
has been a huge plus.
Finally,
I want to share a quote with you guys.
But first, I want to preface it with this: please don't interpret
the following quote in any religious terms.
It doesn't carry any religious connotations.
Rather, this quote is meant to be interpreted in the abstract.
This is the quote: "If you take the lowest microdose, you start
to see how much God loves you.
If you increase your dose, you start to see how much you love
God. If you increase your dose further still, the separation
between you and God starts to dissolve. That first part of
the quote,
I think, captures the essence
of microdosing. It's nothing too crazy, but rather, it
just ever so slightly makes me appreciate of my surroundings
a little bit more. In that sense,
I'm better able to stay in the present.
How often do you microdose? Every two to three days. There
is a type of protocol that is making its rounds on the Internet.
It's sort of taken on a life of its own.
This is the protocol of "one day, two days off" - otherwise
known colloquially as the "Fadiman Protocol."
It refers to a guideline developed by Dr. James Fadiman, who
is a leading expert in psychedelic research and the person
who is credited for introducing microdosing into the mainstream
consciousness. People seem to think that the Fadiman Protocol
is the gold standard for microdosing. It turns out that this
is not what Dr.
Fadiman meant by it at all.
I was listening to one of his lectures last week, in which
he clarifies this. "One day on, two days off" is meant to serve
as a guideline for people who are just starting out. This
means if you take a dose one day, you should consider taking
the next two days off to reflect on any residual effects
and to reflect on what microdosing did for you overall. Repeat
this process for a month and see what happens. Effectively,
there is no one way to microdose. Some people microdose on
an as-needed basis, others
do it every other day, one person did it every day for a month
and even wrote a book about it.
You have to figure out what's best for you.
- This is not a question
I planned to answer because it wasn't in my notes, but I'm
going to mention here that one of the differences
between LSD and magic mushrooms is that on LSD,
you don't really notice a tolerance developing as quickly.
Whereas with magic mushrooms,
if you were to microdose every single day without breaks,
very quickly, you'll notice your tolerance developing. My
first week microdosing LSD,
I was doing it every single day for five days and I didn't
notice much of a tolerance developing.
This is my anecdotal experience.
Take it for what it's worth.
Can you become addicted to LSD?
No, because LSD is not chemically addictive. There is nothing
about it that causes a physical dependency or compulsion
to use. To the extent that someone might favor the experience
of being on LSD versus not being on LSD,
you could potentially make the argument that LSD is psychologically
addictive. But by that logic, LSD would be no more addictive
than chocolate bars, video games, or french fries.
It's a psychological compulsion, if anything. Not necessarily
a physical one. There's even an argument to be made about
LSD being "anti-addictive" in more than one sense of the word.
Because taking large doses of psychedelics creates such a
profound mind-altering experience,
you would be hard-pressed to meet anybody who chooses to
do it every day. Something that's really interesting that
I would love to explore even more in the future is the role
of psychedelics in treating addiction. There are addiction
clinics that use psychedelics in their treatment protocol
to great success.
This is not an exaggeration.
I even interviewed somebody here on this channel; somebody
who used to run an ibogaine treatment clinic. According
to him, his efficacy rate was 80 to 90 percent (something
like that).
This person is also the current board chair of MAPS Canada.
So if you haven't seen that interview, I would recommend
that you watch it.
I'm saying this now because when I first published this interview,
I didn't have the number of subscribers that I have today
(so chances are you haven't seen the interview). We had a fascinating
conversation about psychedelic therapy,
the promise is psychedelic therapy,
and also what a path to legalization would entail. Next question:
is microdosing LSD good for depression and/or anxiety? I've
microdosed both psilocybin mushrooms and LSD and between
these two substances,
I personally believe that magic mushrooms are more effective
for use in mental health treatment.
In fact, you might have seen a recent study by researchers
at John Hopkins University. According to this study, the magnitude
of the effect of psilocybin-assisted therapy is about four
times greater than that of conventional antidepressants. If
you have generalized anxiety disorder (that is anxiety without
depression), LSD might make your anxiety worse, according to
Dr. Fadiman.
I would imagine that the the mechanism behind this has something
to do with the fact that anxiety is already a very stimulating
state to be in an LSD just adds to that stimulation.
Are there other contraindications to LSD microdosing? Dr.
Fadiman advises against taking LSD
if you are on lithium. People with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia
are at a higher risk of experiencing adverse effects; effects
that include psychosis. Another group of people who should
avoid LSD microdosing is people with red/green color-blindness,
According to Dr.
Fadiman, red-green colorblind people
can develop tracers when they microdose. Tracers are visual
trails left behind by moving objects.
If you're going to see tracers while microdosing, it obviously
defeats the purpose of it. If you're on antidepressants,
there doesn't seem to be a straightforward answer for you
with regards to how safe or how effective microdosing LSD
is. There is a 1996 study that shows that the effects of LSD
seem to be blunted by being on antidepressants, but this
study was not a double-blind clinical trial and it only involved
32 subjects
using self-reported questionnaires. On the other hand, Dr.
Fadiman notes in one of his lectures that he doesn't believe
that antidepressants on the whole makes microdosing less
effective. It turns out many people have been able to ease
the process of tapering off SSRI's with the help of micro-
dosing. This is something Dr. Fadiman has observed.
I would tend to trust his observations more because this
is a person who has worked with hundreds of microdosers.
By the way,
we've been talking a lot about Dr.
Fadiman and he sort of the hero of this video.
I want to take this opportunity to plug his book. One second.
This is his book "The Psychedelic Explorers Guide." This
is the book that is credited for introducing microdosing
into the mainstream consciousness.
This book was published in 2011.
If you're interested in learning more about psychedelic therapy,
this is a must-read for you.
It was very helpful for me and I only wish I had picked
it up sooner. If you want to check out the book using my affiliate
link, that would be amazing.
I would get to make three cents from each
purchase. It's not a lot, but it'd be nice.
Anyways, everything is going to be there for you in the box
below. What are your tips for first-timers?
Let's begin with "set and setting." Set refers to your mindset,
setting refers to your physical and social environment. With
regards to mindset, have an open mind. Meditate before micro-
dosing. At the very least, set your intention.
Make sure you're in a steady frame of mind and that you're
not trying to repress anything, because trust me, you can run
but you can't hide. With regards to setting, It's best to microdose
when you don't have a bunch of stressors nagging at you,
especially during the first 2 to 4 hours of your microdose.
I made another video about optimizing your day for an ideal
microdosing experience. That video talks about set and setting
more at length.
If you want to watch it, it's going to be here or there.
I'm not sure yet.
Finally, a good principle for first-timers to abide by is
"Start low, go slow." If the standard microdosing amount is
7 to 12 micrograms,
don't be afraid to start at 5 micrograms.
You can always increase your dosage the next time around
and please don't microdose and drive. Last question:
have you ever had a bad experience while microdosing?
Yes, there was one day on which I took too much and it was
about 12 to 13 micrograms.
And you know me and my trusty paper cutting method...
It didn't necessarily take me by surprise.
I was moreso curious.
I knew that this was going to be a big dose for me, but I
was curious about how it would hit me and there was a part
of me that thought,
"Well, if 6 to 7 micrograms works so well, why not take a higher
dose?" I think I got a little greedy without really preparing
my mindset for that dose. The result of that was I ended
up just being really anxious that day. Not to the point of
having a panic attack or anything, but for somebody who doesn't
struggle with anxiety anymore, to then have a bout of anxiety...
that was unexpected for me to say the least.
Thankfully, it went away within 4 hours. I just
had to wait it out. As a result of that,
I learned that 12 to 13 micrograms is not a good dose for
me (being, you know, my weight and my height). So that concludes
my video. If I missed anything, please let me know in the
comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
I hope you found it helpful.
One more thing: if you have questions about sourcing, I can't
answer them for you because I don't have answers. That's
one thing. But also because I can't answer them for you (and
also because I don't have answers).
So please don't ask questions about sourcing. Other
than that, if you have any other questions, I will try to
get around to answering your questions. Really. Truly.
Thank you so much for joining me for another video and I
will see you guys next time.