Global Trends in Psychedelic Microdosing: Demographics, Substance Testing Behavior, and Patterns of Use
Rotem Petranker, Valentyn Sobolenko, Zeina Beidas, Stephanie Lake, Philippe Lucas, Omer A. Syed, Emily C. Fewster, Muhammad Ishrat Husain
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs November 6, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2024.2424284 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeople who exclusively microdose psychedelics differ from those who also take larger doses. Exclusive microdosers are older (average 46.4 vs. 42.0 years), more often female (68.4% vs. 44.7%), non-Caucasian (25.4% vs. 14.7%), and urban residents (43.9% vs. 38.5%). They report using fewer non-psychedelic substances over their lifetime (3.8 vs. 4.7 substances). Most microdose multiple times a month (52.5%), commonly using psilocybin (74.5%), LSD (34.4%), or ketamine (15.8%), and 64.6% do not test their substances. The main reason for microdosing is improving general wellbeing (73.0%).
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Online survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 6,193 |
| Population | Psychedelic consumers who microdose, including exclusive microdosers and those who also use macrodoses |
| Keywords | Demographics Substance use Psychology |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key finding | Exclusive microdosers differ from those who also use macrodoses in age, sex, ethnicity, urban residence, and lifetime non-psychedelic substance use. |
Abstract
Despite psychedelic microdosing being a growing practice, the research on the topic is still in its infancy. While several studies have described the characteristics, motivations and practices of microdosers, the differences between individuals that only microdose and those that use both micro and macrodoses of psychedelics remain unexplored. In an online survey, we collected data of 6193 psychedelic consumers of which 2488 were microdosers of up to 11 different classical and atypical psychedelics. In comparison to respondents that use both microdoses and macrodoses, exclusive microdosers were older in age (46.4 vs. 42.0 years), had a larger proportion of females (68.4% vs. 44.7%), were non-Caucasian (25.4% vs. 14.7%), urban residents (43.9% vs. 38.5%), and had a lower average lifetime use of non-psychedelic substances (3.8 vs. 4.7 substances). Most consumers (52.5%) microdosed psychedelics multiple times a month, commonly using psilocybin (74.5%), LSD (34.4%), and ketamine (15.8%), with most users (64.6%) not testing their substances. The most common reason for microdosing was improving general wellbeing (73.0%), and psychedelics were used for treating several physical and mental health conditions. Additional analyses examined spending habits of consumers. This study adds to the growing literature on the naturalistic use of psychedelic microdosers.