Current:Home > FinanceMicrodosing is more popular than ever. Here's what you need to know.-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Microdosing is more popular than ever. Here's what you need to know.
View Date:2024-12-23 18:41:02
Once considered taboo, microdosing has made its way to the semi-mainstream.
Elon Musk recently reported that he microdoses ketamine for the treatment of depression, while Prince Harry said mushrooms and ayahuasca helped him through the grief of losing his mother.
It has also piqued the interest of physicians and researchers, as more evidence is emerging that microdosing can improve mental health. A recent study found psilocybin may help cancer patients with depression and anxiety.
You may have questions.
What exactly is microdosing? Is it safe? Is it legal? We spoke with Dr. Shannon Eaton, a neuroscientist and Assistant Teaching Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, to learn everything you need to know about microdosing.
What is microdosing?
When you take a “recreational” dose of drugs commonly microdosed, like ketamine, psilocybin or LSD, you may experience hallucinations or dissociation.
Microsing is when you take a dose well below the threshold of experiencing hallucinations and other subjective effects. So why would you microdose at all?
“The whole idea is you're taking a very small dose – like a tenth of what you would use to feel anything. So you're not getting the same dissociative effect. You're not getting the same visual or auditory hallucinations that you might see with serotonergic drugs (drugs that impact the transmission of serotonin, like psilocybin or LSD.) You're not getting that same, ‘I am completely out of my body, and I can't move’ effects that you see with higher doses of ketamine,” Eaton explains.
“But what you are seeing with these very small doses is maybe a slight shift in mood,” she emphasizes.
More:What are ketamine infusion clinics where Matthew Perry sought help? What you should know
Is microdosing safe?
There are risks when you take any drug or medication, however, microdosing is safest when it is done under the guidance and supervision of a healthcare professional. This is considered therapeutic and not recreational. In this setting, healthcare professionals can respond in an emergency, and you know exactly what you’re taking and the dose.
Is microdosing legal?
Ketamine is legal with a prescription from a doctor, but most therapies (with the exception of Spravato, or esketamine, a nasal spray) have not been FDA-approved. Oregon recently made psilocybin legal. Most other hallucinogenic drugs aren’t legal, however, more research is being done on their therapeutic use, which could change laws in the future.
Attitudes around microdosing have been shifting – and evidence suggests that may be for the better. However, there are still risks associated with taking hallucinogenic drugs unsupervised, so talk to your doctor if you think you may benefit from microdosing.
More:Sharon Osbourne says ketamine helped her depression. Is this the next big trend?
veryGood! (236)
Related
- Oregon's Dan Lanning, Indiana's Curt Cignetti pocket big bonuses after Week 11 wins
- Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky's Kids Are Their Spitting Image in Red Carpet Appearance
- Share of foreign-born in the U.S. at highest rate in more than a century, says survey
- Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris on Instagram. Caitlin Clark, Oprah and more approved.
- Mike Tyson impresses crowd during workout ahead of Jake Paul fight
- Frankie Beverly, the Maze singer who inspired generations of fans with lasting anthems, dies at 77
- 'Rare and significant': Copy of US Constitution found in old North Carolina filing cabinet
- From Chinese to Italians and beyond, maligning a culture via its foods is a longtime American habit
- Ex-Marine misused a combat technique in fatal chokehold of NYC subway rider, trainer testifies
- Dealers’ paradise? How social media became a storefront for deadly fake pills as families struggle
Ranking
- Halle Berry Rocks Sheer Dress She Wore to 2002 Oscars 22 Years Later
- Young women are more liberal than they’ve been in decades, a Gallup analysis finds
- New York City police commissioner to resign after his phone was seized in federal investigation
- Man's body found inside Food Lion grocery store freezer in Raleigh, NC: Reports
- QTM Community Introduce
- DWTS Alum Lindsay Arnold Speaks Out on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives as a Mormon Herself
- A plan to extract gold from mining waste splits a Colorado town with a legacy of pollution
- Attorney: Teen charged in shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie shouldn’t face attempted murder
Recommendation
-
Ryan Reynolds Clarifies Taylor Swift’s Role as Godmother to His Kids With Blake Lively
-
Fantasy football rankings for Week 2: Players to sit, start
-
Judge rejects innocence claim of Marcellus Williams, Missouri inmate facing execution
-
Teen Mom’s Catelynn Lowell Claps Back at Critics Over Feud With Daughter’s Adoptive Parents
-
What to know about Mississippi Valley State football player Ryan Quinney, who died Friday
-
Election officials ask for more federal money but say voting is secure in their states
-
Share of foreign-born in the U.S. at highest rate in more than a century, says survey
-
Libertarian candidates for Congress will be left off Iowa ballots after final court decision