This video churned out by the BBC in 2017, offers a number of frank, intelligent conversations about the microdosing of LSD and magic mushrooms. Those interviewed seem sincere in how the practice has improved their everyday lives in a manner that's medicinal, not recreational. As a guy who's traditionally limited his drug use to booze and coffee, I was fascinated by what they had to say. Read the rest “The BBC talks microdosing magic mushrooms and LSD in this fascinating video”

I just learned about Session Control, a new feature on an already-existing mobile app for the Pax Era portable vaporizer. It's great for people who microdose, like myself, or for folks new to cannabis. It lets you measure your doses, so that your hits are never "too much."

So when I'm not writing for this fine online publication, I freelance at other places. At this time of year, that means I'm working part time at Burning Man. Their headquarters is in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood.

Now, most folks may not realize this but they share a building with Pax Labs. Yes, the company behind the portable vaporizers. Last Tuesday I was invited down to visit the building's second floor, home of their HQ. I went and that's how I learned about the app.

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Going up! #burningman #elevator #elevatorbuttons #burningmanhq #pax

A post shared by Rusty Blazenhoff ⚡️⚡️ (@blazenhoff) on Mar 8, 2016 at 6:38pm PST

When it was new to the market, I got myself the flower-vaporizing Pax 1 device but then I started working in the cannabis industry and moved onto vape pens (and now low-dose edibles). I've been cruising along. While I was at their office they showed me their Era vaporizer (pictured below). It's way more high tech than an ordinary vape pen, and eons past the Pax 1 I once used. It uses concentrates, sold as Pods in dispensaries in states where it's legal, and charges with a USB cable. Read the rest “Hey new cannabis users and microdosers: Pax's app stops you from getting too high”

Microdosing is the term for taking a sub-perceptual dose of a psychedelic drug. Anecdotal accounts of the mental health benefits are informing hypotheses on the possible psychological effects of microdosing.

Janet Lai Chang, a businesswoman, endurance athlete and psychedelics biohacker, will report on her year of psilocybin microdosing at the upcoming Quantified Self Conference in Amsterdam, June 17-18. She says, "I’ll share data from my 12+ month experiment with sub-perceptual doses of psilocybin for the purposes of increasing social skills through decreased anxiety and elevated mood, empathy, and verbal fluidity."

Above, a video from Chang's 2016 talk about her experiences with microdosing. Read the rest “Woman will share results of her year of psilocybin microdosing”

Popularized by Ayelet Waldman's book A Really Good Day, microdosing LSD (ingesting LSD in such minuscule amounts that its psychedelic effects aren't felt) is said to improve cognitive function and relieve pain and depression. At least that is what microdosers claim. Of course this isn't backed by science, since acid was made illegal in 1968 and researching the controlled substance is almost impossible.

But researcher Amanda Fielding, who once drilled a hole in her head in the name of consciousness exploration and who now runs the Beckley Foundation for psychedelic research, is planning a study to see if these microdosing claims are legitimate.

According to Motherboard:

As the first scientific trial to investigate the effects of microdosing, Fielding's study will consist of 20 participants who will be given low doses—10, 20 and 50 micrograms of LSD—or a placebo on four different occasions. After taking the acid, the brains of these subjects will be imaged using MRI and MEG while they engage in a variety of cognitive tasks, such as the neuropsychology staples the Wisconsin Card Sorting test and the Tower of London test. Importantly, the participants will also be playing Go against an AI, which will assess the players' performance during the match.

By imaging the brain while it's under the influence of small amounts of LSD, Fielding hopes to learn how the substance changes connectivity in the brain to enhance creativity and problem solving. If the study goes forward, this will only be the second time that subjects on LSD have had their brain imaged while tripping.

Once the domain of countercultural psychonauts, LSD and mushrooms in one-tenth doses are becoming more popular among you professionals, especially in the tech industry. Read the rest “Psychedelic microdosing makes inroads in Silicon Valley”