The alarming trend of psychedelic microdosing

Psychedelic microdosing is a growing trend, and self-treatment with these drugs is risky. Leana S. Wen highlights estimates from recent research that millions of adults are taking small repeated doses of psychedelics, often for depression and anxiety. She notes that while some psychedelics have shown promise in tightly controlled randomized trials, they are not yet approved treatments and those studies relied on careful screening, supervised dosing, talk therapy, and close follow-up. Without medical evaluation, microdosing can worsen psychotic or manic symptoms in some people. Unregulated access also raises concerns about unreliable potency and dosing, possible contamination with other undisclosed substances, and the possibility that people may delay or avoid evidence-based care. The piece also points to limited or negative evidence for cognitive and mental health benefits, including findings that internet searches for microdosing increased sharply and that a meta-analysis reported no overall cognitive benefit.