So you’re interested in starting microdosing?
Maybe you’ve read an article on microdosing, or heard a popular podcast on the topic.
Maybe you’ve heard about the many benefits that microdosing is reported to provide?
No matter where your interest in microdosing has come from, the first question is always:
Where do I start?
1. OBTAINING SUBSTANCES
Since most psychedelics are currently illegal, we can’t give you advice on how to obtain certain substances.
However, we can provide you information on the nuances of the law in different countries, and let you know about totally legal ways of getting your hands on psychedelics – such as growing your own psilocybin mushrooms (in certain countries) or purchasing legal versions of prohibited substances.
The best advice, however, is to get involved with your local psychedelic society, and start making friends. Fostering a community will always help people find what they’re looking for!
Here is an in-depth guide into the legal status of microdosing.
2. TAKING THE FIRST DOSE
If you’re microdosing with LSD, you’ll want to start out with a small dose of around 5ug. To measure this out, you can either cut up your tab into smaller pieces (inaccurate but quick) or dissolve a tab in distilled water (known as volumetric microdosing – read our full guide).
If you’re microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms, you’ll want to start out with a dose of around 0.2 grams. Read our full guide on how to measure out a microdose of psilocybin mushrooms here.
3. OBSERVING THE EFFECTS
You’ll want to take your first ever dose on a day off, and not plan any intense activities, so you can relax and monitor what the microdose does to your mind and body. If you feel like you didn’t reach the desired state, take a couple of days off then microdose again with a slightly higher amount. If you feel like things get a little too intense, try reducing the dose next time.
Depending on why you want to microdose, you might be looking for different effects. If you’re microdosing for improved productivity, you might want to look out for feelings of increased focus and less procrastination. If you’re microdosing to reduce anxiety, you might want to observe how easy social interactions are.
For more details on how to observe the effects of microdosing, relevant to your intention, sign up for our online microdosing course.
4. BEGINNING A REGIMEN
Once you’ve found the right dose for you, it’s time to make a schedule. The recommended starting routine for microdosing is to dose once every three days. That is, you’ll dose on day 1, take days 2 and 3 off, then dose again on day 4 (and so on).
Continue this schedule for several weeks, and you should start to notice effects. Keep a journal to note how the microdosing is changing your mood or perceptions.
After a few weeks, stop your regimen and take a break to reflect on how things have changed, and what you might want to do differently if you decide to microdose again.
We recommend avoiding long periods of microdosing (more than a few months), as the long-term health effects are unknown at this time.
5. GET INVOLVED!
Join our forum to talk to other microdosers about your experience, and gain useful insight from our other community members.
Listen to our regular podcast to hear insights about microdosing from entrepreneurs, psychedelic experts and self-medicators.
Also, join our mailing list and sign up for our microdosing course to gain exclusive benefits!
I have seen a small amber glass vial be used to hold lsd dissolved into ever clear (very high proof alcohol). In the setup I saw, it was a 2 ml vial with a 100ug tab (cut in pieces to encourage dissolution). Then a 1 ml needleless syringe was used to measure the solution. For each tenth of a millimeter of solution, there would be 5 ug of LSD.
The amounts of solvent (ever clear) and solute (LSD on blotter) can be adjusted to meet whatever dosage desired.
“Dont EVER touch LSD” – I see this around a lot but no one ever explains WHY you shouldn’t touch the blotters with your bare hands. I feel that the fear of touching it is waaaaay exaggerated. As long as you don’t have really sweaty fingertips, you can’t really screw it up.
If fear of humidity is the case, then I would actually be more concerned about breathing since our breath contains way more water and enzymes than our fingertips.
If “absorbing it through your skin” is the case, then just wash your hands with soap afterwards. Absorption through skins isn’t instant and the amount gained from your fingertips efter touching a blotter should at the very tops be enough to gain a small microdose.
What is your opinion on MD’ing every second day, provided you cycle between different compounds – example LSD, 1 day off, psilocybin, 1 day off, san pedro, 2 days off and repeat?
You could do that w/ Sand Pedro and either of the other two but LSD and psilocybin are both tryptamines and work via same receptors. So tolerance build-up is cross reactive
That’s actually not true, Geoffrey. With cross-tolerance, one should think in terms of mechanism of action (pharmacodynamics) rather than chemical structure. Receptor-activation is key here.
According to Psychopharmacology – Drugs, the brain and behavior (Meyer and Quenzer, 2005), LSD as well as phenethylamines activate the 5-HT2A and 2C sub-type receptors, which are thought to modulate the subjective and behaviorial effects of most, if not all, psychedelics. It’s true that LSD and tryptamine activate receptors that are not activated by phenethylamines, and vice versa, but these play a secondary role to the primary effects of psychedelics. You even see differing receptor-activation between a single class of psychedelics.
It is the down-regulation of especially the 5-HT2C receptor that causes tolerance to all drugs that depend on the activation of this receptor. Therefore, you can expect cross-tolerance between LSD, psilocybin and mescaline. Interestingly, a study from 1962 by Waolbach, Isbell and Miner (Psychopharmacologia 3, 1-14, 1962) found cross-tolerance between LSD and mescaline, despite of the extreme difference in potency. Yes, LSD (!) caused mescaline-tolerance! And vice versa, even though this is no surprise when taking the dose into consideration.
When that’s said, the degree of tolerance vary widely between people, and some recover faster than others. The tolerance is also correlated to the amount of drug taken and the frequency of intake. Larger doses (causes down-regulation of more 5-HT2C receptors) and frequent use (too short recovery-period to allow up-regulation of 5-HT2C especially) would cause a stronger tolerance and therefore reduce the effects of psychedelics.
There is another really useful guide for sourcing from the darkweb in thefacilitator.rocks
Think the point is the crystals melt with heat and go unto your skin or wrappers instead of in your body, screwing up your dosage, etc. The absorption through skin is probably nearly irrelevant as it may just break down due to bodily acids/alkalines before entering bloodstream.
I am debating…nevertheless,I am actually grstefull for the suggestion,nothing seems to be helping,thank you for sending info without preassure sales.
I am considering wisiting Europe some time this Summer.
Sincerely
K.A
So if my dose is 150ug could I still use 10ml bottle with a 1ml dose?
Hi Alaina,
Great question! Dissolving a 150ug tab would equal 15ug per 1ml instead of the recommended 10ug or less to start. So, in your case if you’re starting a microdosing protocol and would like to being with 10ug, you would use about 0.66ml in order to arrive closer to the amount that you want.
Thank you for being part of our community, and please let me know if you have any additional questions as I’ll do my best to help.
– Britt with Third Wave
How do you find out the ug’s in the tab?
How does one locate lsd? There are as ads on the internet after a search, but how can one be sure they’re not run by the DEA to entrap.
If attempting to obtain from a young person, the purity is in question. Also, it’s difficult to gain the trust of a teenager or twenty-something when your 60.
I really do need to utilize this therapy as nothing else has worked for my decades long depression
i got a california sunshine stamp
how much can i start microdosing with a 200 ug stamp . how to cut it into pieces to adjust the sepcific dose wanted
Hello i‘m starting to MD and i want to know if sun or heat has some impact on the lsd ? And should i shake the Bottle befor every use ??
Wondering how to measure pure liquid LSD into a micro-dose dropper.
Ratio of pure liquid L to mixing solution…etc
I’m going to start microdosing LSD in a few days. I have a test kit to make sure it is only LSD on the tab, but without a whole laboratory, I have no way of knowing the exact micrograms. This is also the case for most people who can’t speak for the trustworthiness of every person who’s had your LSD from production to distribution. So my question is, how can I tell? From what I know, the best way is to start with a mixture that gives you mild effects and assume it’s strength based on other people’s experiences with a particular strength, then keep diluting it until no effects are felt. Is there a better way?