It was one of the largest formal studies of its kind. The participants — 909 of them, recruited online from 29 countries — included teachers and people who worked in advertising, and ranged in age from their late teens to their late 70s. By gathering responses to an online questionnaire and challenging them to a task to measure their creativity, two University of Toronto PhD students completed one of the first psychological profiles of the growing microdosing community.
“Microdosing” is the regular consumption of small, non-trippy amounts of psychedelic substances such as LSD and “magic mushrooms.” The study found the microdosers scored lower overall on neuroticism and “dysfunctional” attitudes, and higher on a brief “wisdom” scale that measures beliefs like, “I am in touch with my feelings,” or, “I have a good sense of humour about myself.” They seemed more open-minded, more curious and more creative, coming up with more unique and unusual uses for a brick, and a knife. In other words, their mental health seemed to be flourishing.
But while the students, Thomas Anderson and Rotem Petranker,
compared microdosers (current and former) against controls (no microdosing experience whatsoever), their study lacked a placebo arm, making it hard to prove cause and effect.
Now the duo — and their newly launched
University of Toronto Centre for Psychedelic Studies — are preparing what could be the first Canadian study of its kind, a new randomized trial that will compare placebos to measured doses of psilocybin, the principal psychoactive compound found in certain types of fresh and dried mushrooms.
To help cover the cost of equipment and participant expenses, they’ve launched
a GoFundMe page (backers who donate $100 or more will receive a free “Psychedelic Scientist” T-shirt). They’re also working with an interested philanthropic donor, and looking for a manufacturer of medical-grade psilocybin. “These things are expensive and there’s not really government funding for this kind of research, yet,” says Anderson, a cognitive neuroscience PhD student and the centre’s research director.
