Estelle Miller - Microdosing Mysteries: What is really in your psychedelics?

Microdosing involves using sub-hallucinogenic amounts of psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin to potentially improve wellbeing, focus, and creativity. However, the illicit nature of these substances creates a lack of quality control, often leading to discrepancies between expected and actual substances. Drug checking services in New Zealand provide a critical harm reduction tool by allowing individuals to test their substances for purity and harmful adulterants. Research on microdosing has been significantly limited by legal barriers to substance acquisition and analysis. By analyzing illicitly sourced microdose samples through drug checking, researchers can better address gaps in current knowledge. While results show relative consistency in LSD potency, psilocybin samples often exhibit significant variation in concentration, underscoring the necessity for robust legal frameworks that enable safe, evidence-based research.