Translated from our German original by AI. The German text was researched, written, and edited by the Psychedelia Foundation team and remains the authoritative version.
An international survey of 6,193 users of psychedelic substances offers new insight into the growing practice of microdosing. Of those surveyed, 2,488 people said they take psychedelics in very low doses (“microdoses”).
The study shows clear differences between people who microdose exclusively and those who take both micro and regular (“macro”) doses. Exclusive microdosers were older on average (46.4 versus 42.0 years), considerably more often female (68.4% compared with 44.7%) and more likely to live in urban areas (43.9% compared with 38.5%). They had also accumulated less lifetime experience with other, non-psychedelic substances.
The majority of microdosing users (52.5%) took psychedelics several times a month. The substances used most frequently were psilocybin (74.5%), LSD (34.4%) and ketamine (15.8%). Notably, almost two thirds of respondents (64.6%) did not have their substances tested for purity or contents before use.
The most important reason given for microdosing was improving general well-being (73.0%). Many participants also reported using psychedelics to treat various mental and physical complaints.
The authors see the results as a further building block for understanding naturalistic patterns of use in microdosing. At the same time, the data underline that scientific research on psychedelics, and on microdosing in particular, is still at a comparatively early stage despite the growing spread of the practice.
