Psychedelic Drug Microdosing Practices: A Qualitative Online Exploration

Online sources provide a wide range of information on microdosing psychedelics, covering substances, preparation methods, doses, schedules, and safety strategies. A qualitative analysis of 174 unique resources from medical databases, video websites, forums, drug-specific sites, search engines, and social media found no scientific recommendations exist for microdosing, as it is a relatively new concept. The authors recommend future in-person interviews and sample collection to better understand how people prepare microdoses.

Study at a glance

Abstract

ABSTRACT “Microdosing,” defined as the consumption of small, sub-hallucinogenic quantities of psychedelic drugs, has gained recent popularity. Microdosing is a relatively new concept, therefore no scientific recommendations exist on how to prepare and consume microdoses. Many consumers obtain microdosing information online. Few studies have investigated the content of this information; thus, the present study aimed to do so by collecting a large set of online microdosing information. A qualitative approach was taken to compile and characterize online microdosing information. Medical databases, video websites, online forums, drug-specific websites and forums, search engines, and social media websites were searched. A total of 174 unique resources were found, detailing the types of substances, preparation methods, doses, schedules, and safety strategies used by people who microdose. Future research is recommended to further explore how people prepare microdoses through in-person interviews and sample collection.