LSD for breakfast
Across the world, more and more people are ingesting tiny amounts of LSD before heading to work. More creative, more focused, happier - that's the promise of "microdosing". What is the truth of the claim?
"First day. Physical sensations: heightened awareness. Mood: excited. Nervous. Anticipatory. Conflicts: who, me? Just the thought seems absurd. Sleep: couldn't fall asleep for a long time. Woke up early. Work: amazingly productive, completely forgetting the time." This is how Ayelet Waldman records the beginning of her 30-day experiment in her book "A Really Good Day". The American author suffers from depression. In a desperate attempt to clear the fog in her head, she swallows 10 micrograms of LSD every three days for a month.
In so-called microdosing, people regularly take tiny amounts of psychoactive substances: only about a tenth of the dose that usually gets you "high". In addition to LSD, those affected also use psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms", and more rarely other psychedelics such as ibogaine, mescaline or ayahuasca. The microdosers are not interested in the intoxication: Without any noticeable drug effect, they not only want to use the substances to lighten their mood, but also to relieve pain, inspire creativity and increase their productivity. The trend comes from California, more precisely from Silicon Valley, where workaholic start-up founders use LSD to work even faster, more efficiently and more innovatively. Young entrepreneur Paul Austin believes microdosing is the answer to the demands of the new working world, in which machines are gradually taking over routine work and creative and flexible thinking is increasingly required. In the meantime, however, people who suffer from depression and anxiety like Ayelet Waldman have discovered microdosing for themselves. Many report feeling happier and more vital thanks to the daily dose of LSD…
