How To Microdose Shrooms Effectively
Taking tiny doses of mushrooms has become a popular trend, one which many people find helps them to tackle mental health issues like depression and anxiety, as well as improve focus, productivity, and creativity. But how do you microdose shrooms?
The jury is still out on the effectiveness of microdosing. While placebo-controlled studies on microdosing psychedelics have shown there are some benefits not due to the placebo effect, newer research reveals that psilocybin microdosing does not affect anxiety or depression compared with placebo. It is possible that expecting positive results from microdosing is what leads to beneficial outcomes.
Whether microdosing comes down to the placebo effect or not, psychedelic users still swear by the practice, finding it life-changing, even. If you want to microdose psilocybin, specifically, there is a way to do it that microdosing proponents (such as James Fadiman) recommend is best.
Knowing how to microdose shrooms effectively involves several steps. In this guide on microdosing shrooms, we will explain everything you need to know from the mushrooms and equipment to use to how you can keep track of your progress.
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How To Microdose Shrooms: Choosing Your Mushrooms
Obtaining Psilocybin Mushrooms
Before microdosing shrooms, you first need to decide what kind of mushroom you’re going to use. This choice could depend on various factors.
For example, do you intend to pick, grow, or buy the shrooms? Your method of obtaining shrooms will likely alter what kind of mushrooms you can use. In your country, only certain types of magic mushrooms will grow (and they will only grow in specific locations and won’t grow throughout the year).
If intending to purchase shrooms from a street dealer, you will be limited to whatever types they sell. Buying shrooms from the dark web is different as there will be more choices available. Since magic mushrooms are illegal, however, you might find it risky to seek out a dealer or use the dark web in order to procure your mushrooms.
Picking mushrooms and possessing them is illegal as well, but it might not feel as risky.
The other option is growing magic mushrooms from home. This can feel like a much more private affair; plus, you have the opportunity to pick the exact species or strain of mushroom you want. Provided you choose a quality vendor for magic mushroom spores, you can be assured that you will be growing the type of mushroom you intend to take.
Regardless of how you obtain magic mushrooms, you should know that, under many jurisdictions, psilocybin is a highly prohibited substance. It is a Schedule I drug in the United States. If you want to know how to microdose shrooms without any interference from the law, then you will need to do so in states or countries where psilocybin is legal or decriminalized.
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Mushrooms Differ In Potency
One of the main factors that should influence your choice of mushroom for microdosing is potency. Species (as well as strains) of mushrooms can differ significantly in how potent they are.
For example, highly potent magic mushrooms include Liberty Caps and Penis Envy mushrooms (the latter being a strain of Psilocybe cubensis). Standard Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms and Golden Teachers (a strain of Psilocybe cubensis) are moderately potent, in contrast.
Knowing how to microdose shrooms effectively means knowing the potency of the mushroom you’re using and then adjusting your dosage. This might involve some trial and error.
Once you choose a specific type of mushroom, it may take a few tries before you land on a dosage that feels ideal. You don’t want it so high that you feel slight psychedelic effects, but also not so low that you feel no change whatsoever.
Regarding potency, the essential point is that you need a lower dosage of a highly potent mushroom to achieve the desired effects. Using a moderately potent magic mushroom may be easier. Microdosing dosage recommendations tend to be based on these types of shrooms. This is one reason why people commonly use Psilocybe cubensis. Other reasons for the popularity of this species — and its strains — are that they are the most available, and the easiest to grow.
RELATED: Do Shrooms Show Up On A Drug Test?
How To Microdose Shrooms vs. How To Macrodose Shrooms
This brings us to the next point: To microdose effectively, you need to know the difference between microdosing and macrodosing. Microdosing is defined as a tiny, sub-perceptual dose of a psychedelic. This means the dose is so low that classic psychedelic effects are absent but high enough so that some alterations to your mood and cognition should occur. That’s how microdosing is assumed to work, anyway (as we have seen, the effects could come down to the placebo effect, not the compound itself).
A microdose is generally defined as one-tenth to one-twentieth of a normal, recreational dose. If we say that 2g of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms offer a medium strength trip, then a microdose of these shrooms would be 0.1-0.2g.
Once you start taking more than the above, any subject effects will become more noticeable. A low dose of dried magic mushrooms begins at around 0.25g, which is when perceptual changes like visual distortions and color enhancement may appear.
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Understand Your Individual Level Of Sensitivity
If you want to know how to microdose shrooms effectively, then you should also understand your sensitivity to psychedelics.
If you are sensitive to psychedelics, then you may require a lower dose to feel the effects of microdosing compared to someone who is less sensitive. This is why there is no standard microdose and why there is so much variation in people’s preferred dosage for microdosing. One person’s ideal dosage could feel too high for someone else, inducing feelings like restlessness, anxiety, or giddiness.
RELATED: How Much Shrooms Should A Beginner Take?
How To Microdose Shrooms
Now we turn to the practical aspects of microdosing shrooms. This entails what you need to get started and how to keep track of the progress you’ve made. We assume now that you already have a supply of shrooms. If you want to know how to grow psilocybin mushrooms at home, check out our in-depth guide.
Have A Reliable Supply Of Mushrooms
If you have a microdosing regimen, whereby you want to microdose for a set amount of time, say, a few weeks or months, you need a reliable supply of mushrooms. Based on how often you plan to microdose and what your dosage will be, make sure that you have access to a supply of shrooms that is sufficient for your regimen.
Storing Magic Mushrooms
Dried mushrooms are longer lasting than fresh mushrooms. The latter can only be stored in the fridge for five to 10 days. After that, they’ll need to be dried to prevent decay. This is why microdosing with fresh magic mushrooms is not common practice.
Assuming you have dried magic mushrooms, you want to ensure that you store them correctly. Fortunately, there are many methods for storing dried shrooms. These include the following.
- Vacuum sealing
- Keeping them in honey
- Placing them in air-tight jars
- Grinding them into powder and putting them into capsules
One of the easiest and most popular ways to store them is to put them in jars with silica gel packets (these remove moisture) and then put the jars in a dark cupboard out of direct sunlight. Using this method, your shrooms will stay good for up to a year. This is ideal considering that most people microdose for their mental health for several weeks or a few months at a time.
RELATED: Psilocybin For Creativity: How A Hero’s Dose Helped Overcome Writer’s Block For My Latest Book
Understanding Your Shrooms Dosage
To microdose shrooms effectively, you need to know exactly what your shrooms dosage is. Avoid guessing the dosage, as this makes it more likely you’ll either consume too little or too much. Instead, invest in some high-quality scales. This way, you can take the precise dose every time.
Powder Your Shrooms
Within a single batch of shrooms (whether picked or cultivated), potency can vary between one mushroom to another. Moreover, the stem and cap of the mushroom may contain varying amounts of psilocybin and psilocin. For this reason, even weighing your dosage accurately may lead to different microdosing experiences from one time to the next.
One popular recommendation is turning your shrooms into a powder. This is to help evenly distribute the psychedelic compounds.
To powder your shrooms, you can use a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender. Then, when you have your magic mushroom powder, you can weigh up your preferred dose and put these into capsules.
How To Microdose Shrooms With The Help Of Technology
To know if your microdosing regimen is effective, you want to keep track of the following.
- Your feeling before microdosing
- How you feel on the days you microdose
- Your feeling during the days after you microdose, and before the next dosing day
- Any long-term changes
It’s also best to have some kind of intention for microdosing.
Why do you want to do it? What do you hope to get out of it? When you set an intention, and you track progress, you can see if the results match your hopeful goal.
On this point, it is worth mentioning the placebo effect again. The expectation of improving your mental health through microdosing could play a role in making that result happen.
To create a regimen and see the progress you’re making, there are certain microdosing apps you can use. These can track relevant information such as your dose, microdosing schedule, intentions, progress, and states of mind. These include things like mood, energy, clarity, focus, motivation, and self-esteem.
By putting the above recommendations into practice, you will find it easier to follow a microdosing regimen and come to understand if this new habit is leading to positive changes in your life.
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