Adderall, shmaderall. Certain biohackers prefer taking teeny-tiny amounts of psychedelicdrugs to boost focus. But what exactly is a microdose, anyway? Here’s our semi-scientific guide. Hint: If you feel the trees breathing, you’re doing it wrong.
Acid
Microdose (5–10 mcg): Users claim that a microhit of LSD clears mental locks and helps with depression. It’s often taken first thing in the morning with distilled water—chlorine can kill key compounds.
Overdose: Visions, cosmic oneness, epiphanies about epiphanies.
Mushrooms
Microdose (0.1 g): A taste of psilocybin (or its synthetic version, which is often used in clinical trials) brings on a low-key wave of zenlike happiness. So they say.
Overdose: Warps in spacetime.
Ibogaine Hydrochlorid
Microdose (2 mg): This drug, extracted from iboga roots, can produce a calm focus that, unlike Adderall, also acts as a mild aphrodisiac. (Its main use is for detox, often for opiate addicts.)
Overdose: Psychedelia, vomiting, skin numbness.
DMT
Microdose (6 mg, but modes of delivery vary): The main ingredient in ayahuasca tea, DMT might change your perspective—but even small amounts could get you high.
Overdose: Deep vibrations, projectile vomiting, self-transcendence.
This article appears in the June issue. Subscribe now.