Microdosing is the act of consuming sub-perceptual (unnoticeable) amounts of a psychedelic substance. Learn more about this popular ingestion method.
People who regularly take small doses of mushrooms report feeling more creative, energized, focused, and better in their interpersonal interactions, as well as having less anxiety, tension, and even despair. Some enthusiasts also report that micro-dosing mushrooms have helped them heighten their spiritual awareness and enhance their senses.
Psychedelic researchers have shown psilocybin to be effective in treating anxiety and mood problems. The Beckley Foundation is leading the charge for psilocybin mushroom legalization, supported by their studies demonstrating psilocybin’s lasting benefits for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Following Denver, Colorado’s successful initiative to legalize psilocybin mushrooms, Oakland, California recently decriminalized all plant medicines, including psilocybin mushrooms.
Many people have reported experiencing prolonged periods of remission after treating their headaches with psychedelic substances, including mushrooms (and LSD), which have been demonstrated to have comparable or better effectiveness in treating cluster headaches than most conventional treatments.
Given the favorable effects of full psilocybin doses, there is reason to think that taking little amounts of mushrooms could have a comparable positive impact on one’s life.
How do you microdose mushrooms?
Psilocybin mushrooms make micro-dosing a simple operation. You must either buy your psilocybin or grow it yourself. Due to their enormous popularity and moderate effects, Golden Teachers may be something you want to look into if you’re new to traveling. Online, you can purchase kits for growing mushrooms, but for most of them, you must first acquire psilocybin spores.
Following a month-long routine will ensure that you get long-lasting effects once you’ve produced or bought the medication, prepared your microdoses, and consumed them at the proper time. Below, we go into greater detail about each of these components.
Preparing your microdose
While there are more steps involved than when using LSD, preparing psilocybin mushrooms for micro-dosing is still simple. Calculating the amount of psilocybin in a specific mushroom is the most difficult component. Both fresh and dried psilocybin mushrooms carry varied amounts of psilocybin, as do different strains of mushrooms. Even the mushroom itself contains somewhat variable amounts in various places.
Whatever the case, we advise drying a batch of mushrooms, powdering them, and measuring out about 0.1g as your first microdose. The amount can then be changed suitably from there. Roll it back to just under that dose after you reach a dose that causes you to experience some changes, most notably drowsiness, the initial effect of a psilocybin trip. Your mushroom microdose sweet spot is there.
Any variety of psilocybin mushrooms is suitable for micro-dosing. Although there are approximately 180 different varieties in nature, the most well-known ones are Psilocybin cubensis, Psilocybin semilanceata, Psilocybe azurecens, Psilocybe cyanescens, and Panaeolus.
Simply be conscious of how much psilocybin is present in your strain. (Penis Envy, for instance, is among the strongest magic mushrooms available, whereas Golden Teachers are more approachable medium-strength varieties.) After that, modify your microdose as necessary.
How to take your microdose
Take your microdose in a variety of ways. To accurately measure your dosages into empty capsules is the most practical method. This will guarantee even distribution and cover up the flavor.
Another choice is to make psilocybin tea by combining the powder with hot water and, if desired, honey. However, you should feel free to try it and add the powder to (nearly) whatever beverage you have to start your day. However, we wouldn’t advise you to try Lemon Tekking, which involves combining psilocybin mushrooms with citrus juice, as this mixture can make the experience more intense than just below the threshold.
Can microdosing build up tolerance to shrooms?
Yes, using mushrooms in small doses can change your psilocybin tolerance, to put it simply.
An alternative microdosing regimen to the one previously mentioned is advised by Paul Stamets. To prevent developing a tolerance, he advises taking a microdose every day for four days, followed by three days off. Along with lion’s mane, niacin, and other supplements, he proposes making psilocybin a key component of the stack to support neuroplasticity and general well-being.
Both psilocybin and lion’s mane have the ability to both regenerate damaged neurological tissue and produce new neurons and neural connections. Niacin functions as a flushing agent and transports GABA through the blood-brain barrier, aiding in the psilocybin molecules’ distribution. Stamets thinks that when taken as a whole, “this special combination of compounds can be incorporated into other therapies, with such combinations providing unique advantages for medically significant advancements in repairing neurons, removing amyloid plaques, improving mental health, cognition, agility, and improving overall the ecology of consciousness.”
You should not microdose daily
It is not advised to take a microdose every day. If you take psilocybin every day for a few days, you may experience diminishing effects since your body develops a tolerance to it. For this reason, Fadiman advises waiting a few days between doses. Additionally, it’s a good idea to space out your doses because a microdose’s beneficial effects may occasionally last for several days.
Normalizing a highly potent drug is another drawback of daily micro-dosing. It is comparable to the use of coffee as a stimulant for work. When you regularly consume coffee, you eventually need to up your dosage to maintain the same effect. One cup quickly increases to two, three, or four within a few months.
It is best to leverage microdosing as an occasional advantage, rather than a go-to like coffee. So whichever protocol you follow, be sure to build in at least a few reset days where you don’t microdose.
Microdosing Retreats
Even the idea of microdosing can be intimidating to someone who has never used psychedelics. Retreats are a fantastic choice for people who wish to learn about psychedelics in a guided, individualized setting while surrounded by professionals. For those wishing to start their microdosing adventure, customized retreats may be a possibility. They may also be the most effective approach to turning the psychedelic experience into life-improving insights.