Cannabis Ranks Among List of Common Microdosed Substances in US By Adults

New research reveals millions of Americans are microdosing psychoactive substances as cannabis and psilocybin gain popularity for both health and leisure

How common is microdosing in the US?

According to a recent study published on May 4 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers from University of California San Diego have established that microdosing, defined as taking very small amounts of psychoactive substances, is more common among US adults than previously recognized. The study estimates that common microdosed substances in US include cannabis, psilocybin, LSD (“acid”), and MDMA (“ecastacy”), which are consumed by millions of Americans.

Why are Americans microdosing?

Furthermore, Eric Leas, PhD, MPH, assistant professor at the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longetivity Science and senior author of the study noted that, contrary to most proponents of microdosing recommending use under specific protocols involving low doses of LSD or psilocybin for specific health applications, they found more people thinking about microdosing for recreational purposes and as a way to reduce dosage. To better understand the prevalence of the practice, data from a nationally representative survey of 1,525 US adults in late 2023 was analyzed by researchers. In the survey, participates were asked whether they had ever intentionally microdosed cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, LSD or MDMA.

What do the study results reveal?

The survey result showed that about 9.4% of US adults (around 24.1 million people) microdosed cannabis atleast once in their lifetime. In comparison, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA was microdosed by 5.3%, 4.8%. and 2.2%,, respectively. Interestingly, diverse reasons were reported for microdosing cannabis such as managing anxiety, depression or chronic pain. Researchers caution against determining the health effects of cannabis use due to mixed findings from the few placebo-controlled trials conducted. CIO Bulletin considers the need to monitor patterns of microdosing as particularly important for public health in the face of evolving cannabis legalization and psychedeliuc policy reforms across the US.