Participant Experiences of Microdosed Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in a 6-Week Randomised Controlled Trial
This qualitative study (n=40) of healthy males following a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of LSD microdosing (10µg every third day for 6 weeks) found participants reported effects across emotions and mood, social life, mindfulness, cognition and creativity, and physiological domains, with key themes including openness to experiences and bidirectionality of effects, alongside reports of changes in anxiety suggesting important considerations for patient selection and dose optimisation. The article begins by outlining the growing interest in microdosing psychedelics, a practice in which people take very small, sub-hallucinogenic doses of a substance such as LSD on a regular schedule. Individuals often report that microdosing enhances emotional wellbeing, creativity, focus, or social engagement. However, most of what is known about microdosing comes from online accounts or informal community reports, which makes it difficult to determine whether the effects attributed to microdosing are due to the drug itself or to expectation, placebo, or inaccurate dosing. Murphy and colleagues note that although several controlled trials have recently been conducted, none has previously published qualitative data about participants’ lived experiences. This study therefore aims to provide such insight within the structure of a fully randomised, placebo-controlled trial.
“Microdosing psychedelics is an increasingly popular phenomenon where small amounts of psychedelic drugs are taken regularly. Qualitative data have been published regarding the experiences of microdosers, but never in the context of a randomised controlled trial. Semi-structured video interviews with 40 healthy males were conducted following a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 10 µg of lysergic acid diethylamide every third day for 6 weeks. Data were analysed using content analysis with initial deductive categories derived from the literature populated with inductively derived codes. Drug effects were classified in the following categories: “emotions and mood,” “social life,” “mindfulness,” “cognition, work, and creativity,” and “physiological effects,” with an additional “influences” code for non-drug modifiers of participants experiences in the trial. Themes which spanned these categories were openness to experiences and a bidirectionality of effects. Some identified codes have potential clinical relevance and may support the use of microdosing in treatment of mood disorders. Reports of changes in anxiety suggest important considerations in selecting appropriate patients and doses. Of relevance to psychedelic clinical trial design are participants’ reports regarding set and setting, the uncertainty caused by participating in a placebo-controlled trial, and perceived bidirectionality of effects.”
Murphy, R. J., Wardlaw, M., Smith, T., Noorani, T., Evans, W., Reynolds, L., Menkes, D. B., Sumner, R. L., & Muthukumaraswamy, S. D. (2025). Participant Experiences of Microdosed Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in a 6-Week Randomised Controlled Trial. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 0(0). Link to Paper
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