Microdosing 101

Artsy Shot: Small is Beautiful

An article by Alexander

Executive Summary

Microdosing shows you how important it is to live in the here (what is space?) and now (what is time?) and simply to be aware. Contrary to the common misconception that microdosing is a miracle cure and automatically solves all your problems as if by magic, you must be willing to open long-thought-closed doors in your subconscious and work hard on yourself. If you are, microdosing can act as a catalyst in overcoming your darkest problems.

What the hell is microdosing anyway? Microdosing with LSD has been a hot topic for quite some time, and perhaps you've heard about it too. But what's all the hype about? Should you try microdosing, or is it better to steer clear? You'll find answers to these questions (and many more) right here, right now in our Microdosing 101 – the best German-language all-inclusive guide to microdosing on the internet.

☝🏻 Disclaimer: Please be sure to observe our risk warnings.

What is Microdosing?

As the name already suggests, microdosing involves low dosages (the word "micro" comes from Greek and means "small"). Essentially, you can microdose with any drug (e.g., alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine). However, a positive effect will only occur when consuming very specific substances. Psychedelics like LSD or psilocybin (which is the active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms) are most commonly used for microdosing.

To keep things as simple as possible, in this article we'll focus on microdosing with LSD, also colloquially known as Acid. We delve into so-called macrodosing, i.e., taking LSD in "normal" quantities, in detail in our Acid 101, where we also clear up the legion of negative prejudices against psychedelic substances in general.

However, the basic statements in this article largely also apply to microdosing with psilocybin and a number of other substances such as cannabis, DMT, fly agaric, ketamine, or mescaline (in alphabetical order), which are significantly less known and therefore less widespread in German-speaking countries (or is it the other way around?).

But enough with the preamble – let's dive into the actual topic: Microdosing involves consuming a quantity of your chosen substance – in our case, LSD – so small that you don't feel any of its normally desired effects (e.g., stimulation, numbness, or intoxication).

You read that correctly: you consume so little LSD that you don't feel any of the effects for which LSD is actually known – from hallucinations to ego dissolution. If you do feel something, then by definition the consumption no longer falls under Microdosing; instead, it's called Minidosing. In other words: you've probably messed up the dosage. Oh dear!

So, back to the main topic: microdosing. At this moment, you're probably asking yourself just one question:

Why Microdose?

Just because microdosing doesn't lead to the usual effects of LSD (or shouldn't, at least), that doesn't mean it has no effect at all – quite the opposite. Please buckle up, because here comes an (incomplete) list of possible positive effects of microdosing with LSD (in random order):

• Increased satisfaction
• Higher level of creativity
• Improved concentration
• Better mood in general
• More energy and less fatigue
• Increased stress resistance and calmness
• Alleviation of depression and anxiety
• Decrease in substance abuse
• Increased spirituality

Microdosing thus appears to be able to have a positive influence on psychological well-being on a variety of emotional-mental levels, which stands in stark contrast to the common opinion that drug consumption must always be harmful to health (especially since drugs, ranging from cannabis to alcohol to heroin, are often lumped together lol). But as is often the case in life, the following applies here: "All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes it so that a thing is not a poison."

🐒 Semi-useful knowledge: The majority of the population in developed countries demonizes "hard drugs" such as LSD, MDMA, or ketamine, while alcohol is almost indispensable in social situations (video evidence), which amounts to a double standard if one believes the best-known scale that classifies drugs according to their harmfulness.

Does all this sound too good to be true? It's incredibly important for us to point out with a raised index finger that the consumption of psychoactive substances always entails risks, even the consumption of micro-, mini-, or midi-doses. However, the extent of the risks and side effects of microdosing is manageable when used correctly (you'll find the package leaflet in the next section "What's the Catch?").

🐒 Semi-useful knowledge: Microdosing? Minidosing? Mididosing? Macrodosing? What, what?! There is no uniform definition (perhaps primarily due to the illegality of LSD) of which dose falls under which designation, so we take the liberty of classifying anything under 20 µg as microdosing, the range [20; 50[ µg as minidosing (yes, the open square bracket is intentional and you would know that if you had paid attention in math class), [50; 100[ µg as mididosing, and anything above that as macrodosing. Doses of 300 µg and more are often also referred to as "heroic" or "spiritual" doses because they just blow your mind (ego death, anyone?). Important: These ranges are only to be understood as rough guidelines, because firstly, every person is different, and secondly, it's more than you think (see also "How does Microdosing work? The Psychedelika-Club Microdosing Schedule" below).

But how do you know if these claims are well-founded? Since LSD has been banned in most countries around the world since the 1960s, the number and quality of scientific studies unfortunately remain limited to this day. However, in recent years, research with substances like LSD, psilocybin, or MDMA has gained momentum again in various countries (e.g., Switzerland or the USA), which should at least lead to a significant improvement in the currently rather sparse study situation in the medium to long term (see also "The legal status of psychedelics – is microdosing illegal?" below).

Fortunately, we don't have to wait that long, because – not least thanks to the so-called internet – there is a decent pile of (sometimes more and sometimes less objective and/or scientific) experience reports, microdosing guides, and instructions that can be used as a substitute in the meantime (see also "Resources" below).

This means for you, conversely: to finally find out whether LSD microdosing works for you and unfolds the desired effect on your body and mind, you will, for better or worse, have to bite the bullet and take matters into your own hands (you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs). But if you have an uneasy feeling about it, it's better to leave it alone.

🐒 Semi-useful knowledge: LSD and most other psychedelics like mescaline or psilocybin are, contrary to popular belief, according to everything we know today, neither harmful nor unhealthy for the human body and – almost even more exciting – are not (physically) addictive. Yes, you read that correctly: psychedelics are generally not addictive. Feel free to compare that to alcohol, nicotine, or social media.

What's the Catch with Microdosing (aka Risks and Side Effects)?

As with all drugs (or medications), microdosing with LSD also carries risks and side effects, as well as contraindications (reasons that argue against consumption in general, even in small amounts). Here's a brief overview of the most important facts:

People with psychoses (e.g., schizophrenia), autistic traits, or color blindness should rather stay away from microdosing (or psychedelics in general) (please Google the reasons yourself if you fall into this category); the same applies to people who regularly take (strong) medications (e.g., antidepressants), as interactions (both positive and negative) can occur. When in doubt, you should consult with your trusted doctor and, ideally, also involve your therapist.

The most common known side effects of microdosing are as follows (in random order):

• Sleep disturbances
• Concentration difficulties
• Exacerbation of existing anxiety
• Increased light and glare sensitivity
• Feeling of restlessness in the gastrointestinal tract

Should you experience unpleasant side effects during microdosing (or simply have no positive effects to report), please discontinue your experiment immediately and contact your doctor and/or pharmacist and/or therapist as soon as possible.

Since the health of our readers is important to us, we have created a package insert on the topic of risks, side effects, and contraindications when consuming psychedelics, which we strongly recommend to you.

As for the long-term effects of microdosing, we are unfortunately still largely in the dark as of today, as there are hardly any reliable long-term studies due to the difficult legal situation of psychedelics, which would be a wonderful bridge to the next paragraph:

The Legal Status of Psychedelics – Is Microdosing with LSD Legal or Illegal?

LSD, like almost all psychedelics, is illegal in most countries. Unfortunately, these countries include Germany and Austria. Switzerland is currently the only country in the world where doctors are allowed to use psychedelics like LSD or MDMA for therapeutic purposes outside of scientific studies – Hopp Schwiiz! This means that for most people, there is no (reasonable) legal way to get their hands on LSD – not even for microdosing.

The most obvious alternative is to contact your trusted dealer or go shopping on the Darknet. However, since this option is not available to most people, and with drugs from dubious sources, you generally don't know what's in them (unfortunately, there's no organic seal for psychedelics yet), we don't think that's a good idea. Especially since we tend to advise against breaking the law.

But now for the good news: for several years now, so-called prodrugs have been on the market, which – chemically speaking – are slight modifications of common psychedelics, including LSD. After taking such an LSD derivative, it is rumored that it is converted into normal LSD in the body. This means that such prodrugs may be able to achieve the same (or at least comparable) effects as conventional LSD. However, we don't really know this, because prodrugs are often also called "research chemicals" and not without good reason: they are intended for research and are therefore not for human consumption.

Since the principle in Germany is that what is not forbidden by law is allowed, it is possible to legally acquire quasi-LSD in this way. However, this loophole has not gone unnoticed by the legislature, which is why the list of prohibited substances is regularly adjusted to counteract the trade in such prodrugs. However, the laboratory in the Netherlands that produces these prodrugs is – at least to this day – one step ahead of the authorities: The ban on 1P-LSD in 2019 in Germany was followed by 1CP-LSD, and on the day of its ban in 2021, said laboratory announced the successor, 1V-LSD, which was banned in 2022, followed by the announcement of 1D-LSD and later 1T-LSD. However, these derivatives have also been banned since June 2024. The derivative currently still freely available, at least in Germany, is 1S-LSD – S for super, of course. The cat-and-mouse game seems to have no end. Love and Light!

How Microdosing Works: The Psychedelika-Club Microdosing Schedule

Yes, we actually translated "protocol" as "Fahrplan" (schedule/timetable) and no, "Protokoll" is not the correct translation of "protocol". And to avoid misunderstandings: for macrodosing, we speak of a flight plan, for hopefully obvious reasons, and for microdosing, a schedule.

Anyhow, microdosing is definitely child's play: The first time, take 5 µg of LSD and observe yourself for a day. If you feel a decent buzz or get hallucinations at work, the dose was too high; if you don't feel anything at all until you go to bed in the evening, it was probably too low. Ideally, you shouldn't noticeably feel anything all day, but if you mentally review the day in the evening and think: "Today was a good day", then you have found your optimal dose. This dose is also known in professional circles as the Golden Ratio Dose ("GSD-1"). Until you have found the sweet spot in dosing, it is recommended to go up or down from the initial 5 µg in 1 µg increments until you hopefully discover your GSD-1. (I hope it goes without saying that not every statement of ours should be taken literally and that the first calibration attempt should definitely be carried out on a free day without responsibilities.)

🐒 Semi-useful knowledge: If you prefer to experiment with magic mushrooms, divide the LSD quantity by 50 to convert from the microgram-LSD scale (e.g., 5 µg) to the milligram-psilocybin scale (based on dried, not fresh, mushrooms or truffles) (in this example, 5 µg / 50 = 0.1 g). However, dosing with mushrooms is unfortunately never truly precise, because, well, it's a natural product. Those who prefer exact science are better off with LSD (which, by the way, is also only semi-synthetic, as it is produced from lysergic acid, which in turn occurs naturally in the ergot fungus).

Once you have successfully calibrated your GSD-1 (e.g., to 7 µg), multiply the resulting value by three (in our example, that would be 7 x 3 = 21 µg), and voilà, your personal so-called Golden Shot Dose ("GSD-2") is found. We'll tell you below when to use the GSD-2.

And now to the crux: How often should (or rather, may?) one indulge in microdosing?

🐒 Semi-useful knowledge: The best-known microdosing schedule is named after James Fadiman ("Fadiman Protocol" or "Fadiman Schedule"), who is considered the grandfather of microdosing. (Jim, by the way, wrote a great book* on psychedelics in general, which we hereby recommend to every reader.) With the Fadiman schedule, also known as the "10-3 schedule," you microdose every third day for 30 days, alternating between one day under the influence, one day under the so-called afterglow (the positive lingering effects of psychedelics), and one day of sobriety. This schedule, which circulates in this or a similar form with slight modifications on the internet, has established itself as best practice in the microdosing community. You can do it this way, but in our opinion, there's even more potential (in terms of efficiency and effectiveness).

The Psychedelika-Club Microdosing Schedule works as follows: Once you have carefully calibrated your optimal dose (GSD-1), consume it twice during the work week (either Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday) and then three times that amount (GSD-2) on the weekend (Saturday, if the last dose falls on a Thursday; otherwise Sunday).

To avoid misunderstandings, here is a day-by-day summary of the two possible variants of the Psychedelika-Club schedule we just described:

Option 1 ("On the Lord's Day, they shall remain sober")

• Monday: Sober
• Tuesday: Microdosing (GSD-1)
• Wednesday: Sober
• Thursday: Microdosing (GSD-1)
• Friday: Sober
• Saturday: Minidosing (GSD-2)
• Sunday: Sober

Option 2 ("Friday is High Day" or "Sunday is Funday")

• Monday: Sober
• Tuesday: Sober
• Wednesday: Microdosing (GSD-1)
• Thursday: Sober
• Friday: Microdosing (GSD-1)
• Saturday: Sober
• Sunday: Minidosing (GSD-2)

Repeat this for four consecutive weeks, which results in a total of eight microdosing and four minidosing days.

Yes, you read that right: The Psychedelika Club Microdosing Schedule combines microdosing and minidosing, and thus, strictly speaking, is not purely a microdosing schedule. Why did we do this? Well, for one, we had to come up with something new to avoid simply presenting you with the ten thousandth variation of the Fadiman schedule. Secondly, our schedule assumes that you shouldn't trip too hard at work during the week (unless you work in a creative field and have no personnel or organizational responsibilities, then you can minidose three times a week for all we care). However, on weekends, you're allowed to let loose and indulge in a slightly higher dose, with which, experience shows, you achieve faster, farther, and higher results in terms of self-therapy and personal development. That's what you put yourself through all this for, isn't it? If you can't answer that with a clear yes, we ask you to pause and seriously consider why you want to microdose in the first place. If you're just looking for the next kick, unfortunately, microdosing has no picture for you.

🐒 Semi-useless knowledge: With a GSD-1 of 7 µg or a GSD-2 of 21 µg, a total of approximately 140 µg of LSD is consumed over four weeks. For comparison: A standard commercial LSD dose ("macrodosing") is usually between 125 and 150 µg.

If you're wondering why you can't just microdose every day: You develop a tolerance every time you consume LSD (the concept of tolerance should be familiar to you in relation to alcohol, cannabis, or medications, where it is often even desirable, and when tolerance is desired, one is described as "adjusted"). If you were to consume the same dose for two consecutive days, you would feel significantly less or nothing at all on the second day. So, you would have to increase the dose (experts often report a factor of 1.75) to achieve similar effects – or take a break, which we consider the smarter, because more reasonable, approach. Therefore, the break after minidosing days in the Psychedelika Club LSD microdosing schedule is two days (instead of one day after microdosing). That's really all there is to it.

But a word of caution: It should not necessarily be more than 20 µg per dose on microdosing days, as at about 20-25 µg, most people begin to experience psychedelic effects (and it will be visible in your pupils that you've taken something). In that case, it's better to plan a normal psychedelic journey and study our LSD guide Acid 101 (Warning: This sentence contained product placement).

Procurement – where to get it?

Since LSD is illegal in most countries of the world, including Germany, we do not want to, or rather, are not allowed to give you any tips and tricks for procurement. As the question has come up quite often, we explicitly and seriously point out that the LSD derivative 1S-LSD available in our shop is not intended for human consumption, but only for research purposes, even if their chemical properties are confusingly similar. 🤷🏻

Preparation of microdosing portions

Basically, there are two (sensible) ways to portion LSD: If you are one of the lucky people whose GSD-1 is exactly 10 µg, then you can conveniently use the common commercial 10-microgram pellets (which are simply mini-tablets). If your GSD-1 is greater than or less than 10 µg, you are out of luck, as the pellets can only be halved (and even that doesn't work particularly well), and thus do not allow for finer dose calibration.

What do we recommend instead? Take a sealable glass (you can really just use a plain old PET bottle for this, or if you like it fancy, get an apothecary jar or something similar), fill it with X milliliters of distilled water or vodka (also distilled), place a blotter with X micrograms of LSD in it, seal the glass well, shake it for 69 seconds, and then wait 42 hours. That's it – no joke (seriously)!

⚡️ Life Hack: If you ever want to start dealing, either halve the micrograms or double the milliliters to effectively dilute your stuff, and leave the price and quantity unchanged. This way, you can increase your revenue by up to 96% and your profit by around 420%.**

Ingesting Microdosing Substances

Depending on whether you chose water or vodka in the previous step, we are now dealing with either a glass of water or a glass of vodka, the contents of which must now be meticulously dosed. However, dosing is surprisingly simple: Take a syringe, draw the desired amount of liquid precisely in milliliters from the glass, and then inject the liquid either into your mouth, where you gargle it for two to three minutes, or into another (initially empty) glass. Then, fill this glass with your go-to drink, for which orange juice has proven to be particularly well-suited, empirically speaking. Then, mix the two ingredients, bring the glass to your mouth, and drink it. Cheers!

Timing of Microdosing ("an apple a[bout every other] day")

Since LSD lasts up to twelve hours (and for many people, even longer) and most people don't sleep well on LSD, it is recommended to take it first thing in the morning, ideally more than twelve hours before bedtime. As a rule of thumb, you could remember 10:00 AM as the cutoff time, and then rien ne va plus.

It's best to take your LSD right after waking up and before breakfast with a delicious tea, then do some yoga (good for the body), followed by a pinch of meditation (good for the mind) or breathwork (good for body and mind), and then treat yourself to a proper FirstBest™ Vegan Premium Muesli with fresh berries. Okay, that was too much of a cliché: You don't necessarily have to be interested in all this New Age stuff to microdose effectively – but never try, never know.

🐒 Semi-useful knowledge: In terms of timing, one might also wonder how it relates to before and after larger LSD doses ("macrodosing"). Since macrodosing is not the subject of this article, we will limit ourselves, without explaining the reasons, to the recommendation to allow two weeks to pass both before and after a higher LSD dose (>= 100 µg) before or after a microdosing adventure (Spoiler: it has to do with tolerance).

Documentation and Integration (aka "Docugration")

As with macrodosing LSD, clean documentation and proper integration of what has happened are of utmost importance with microdosing (or minidosing). We will show you step by step what this means and how to do it.

Step 0 ("Intention"):

As with macrodosing, you should also set an intention for microdosing to align your inner compass. An intention is a purpose that can be formulated as a question (e.g., "what was the question to the answer 42 again?") or a vague statement (e.g., "I want to become a better capitalist"). Remind yourself of your intention before taking each LSD dose so as not to lose sight of it. Or, in the words of microdosing legend Jim Fadiman: "Notice what your intentions going in are and then let them go once you feel yourself lift off. The day or two [afterwards] review what you learned or experienced and then look at your intentions. That will be useful to me and invaluable to you."

Step 1 ("Documentation"):

When microdosing, you should be a bit more mindful throughout the day and definitely start journaling. Journaling is a buzzword for writing a diary, and it doesn't have to be done with a fountain pen anymore (in a tall tower high above the sea with a darkened sky and creeping darkness), but can also always and everywhere simply be typed into the notes app of your choice on a smartphone. The importance of careful documentation of thoughts on microdosing days can almost not be overstated, because without it, many insights will unfortunately fall by the wayside – been there, done that.

Step 2 ("Integration"):

Integration sounds more complicated than it is, because the modern buzzword simply means reading through the notes written down in Step 1 while sober and trying to remember the good ones (believe us, not all of them are as brilliant as they might initially seem) or, so to speak, extracting them into the sober state from The Otherside – similar to an exorcism, but in a more positive way. Basically, integration simply means reading through the notes taken, reflecting on what was read, and – for go-getters – summarizing it in the form of an Executive Summary for later reference.

🔥 Brainteaser: How often do you actively and constructively think about solving your problems? Microdosing can help you increase your effectiveness in this regard.

Step 3 ("Docugration"):

Our ancestors in ancient Greece already used to say that "whoever documents, better integrates", and with that, they not only captured the spirit of the times but also hit the nail on the head – the word Docugration was born. Entire libraries could be filled with Docugration, but for reasons of space, we will limit ourselves here to the following statement: Life-changing consumption of psychedelics does not end with the initial integration, but is a continuous process. This means that one should constantly engage with the insights and knowledge gained through the documentation and integration of one's LSD adventures.

Oh dear – the curtain suddenly closes! And with that, we have reached the end of our free introduction to the colorful world of microdosing (and minidosing). We hope that you were able to learn and take away a lot, and we would be happy if you send us feedback of any kind via email to mail@psychedelika.club. We also always appreciate a review on Google.

Outro to our Microdosing Guide

Microdosing refers to the intake of psychedelics like LSD in amounts too small to cause intoxicating effects. Nevertheless, the practice is attributed a range of positive effects, from improved concentration and increased creativity to higher satisfaction, while microdosing side effects are generally limited. Microdosing is remarkably easy to implement and can be practiced in a (more or less) legal way. Whether microdosing is for you is something only you can find out for yourself. To make things a little easier for you, we have created the Psychedelika Club Microdosing Schedule, which guides you step by step to your first shot and shows you what to look out for.

FAQ on Microdosing Instructions

Which microdosing instructions are suitable for beginners?

Our microdosing instructions are ideally suited for beginners, as they sensibly combine micro- and minidosing and are clearly structured. They show a fixed weekly rhythm with individually calibrated dosing, which adapts to everyday life and weekend planning. This makes them practical and more applicable than classic standard protocols.

Are there differences in the effects of LSD microdosing between inexperienced and experienced users?

Whether someone has already gained experience with LSD microdosing or not can certainly influence perception. Inexperienced users often initially feel the change in experience more strongly – for example, through subtle emotional, physical, or cognitive impulses. With growing experience, many develop a better sense of the appropriate dosage, the right setting, and their own intention. As a result, the effects of LSD microdosing are often used more consciously and perceived more differentiated – for example, to promote creativity, clarity, or emotional balance.

Is there a universal LSD microdosing guide or do I have to experiment?

An LSD microdosing guide only provides orientation, meaning you still need to find out what works and what doesn't for you. Everyone reacts differently to psychedelics. Therefore, self-observation is fundamental to determine the ideal dosage (GSD-1) and the appropriate timing. Starting with micro-steps like 5 µg or 10 µg and accompanying documentation is advisable.

How does a microdosing guide differ from scientific literature or forum posts?

High-quality microdosing guides are practice-oriented, experience-based, and contain concrete tips on dosing, integration, and self-assessment. Scientific literature usually focuses on study results, while forums can be very subjective and sometimes contradictory. Preferably, you should use all three sources to get an optimal picture.

What long-term microdosing side effects are possible, even if none occur in the short term?

As there are hardly any long-term studies, possible long-term microdosing side effects are currently insufficiently researched. Theoretically, tolerance effects, emotional dependence, or cognitive changes could develop. It is recommended for those who microdose long-term to take regular breaks and keep an eye on their mental health.

Endnotes

*All links marked with an asterisk (*) are so-called affiliate links. If you click on such an affiliate link and make a purchase through it, you support the Psychedelika Club, as we receive a small commission from the respective provider. This does not change the price for you.

**This "Life Hack" is obviously meant as a joke, as we would never advise anyone to break the law or rip people off.