Interest in microdosing as an approach to health enhancement has increased significantly in recent years.

Among adults who use psychedelics, most notably psilocybin, microdosing has become increasingly prevalent.

No research shows microdosing psychedelics to be effective for enhancing mental-emotional well-being.

Because potency and dosing are unpredictable, people may end up consuming considerably more than they expect.

Microdosing as an approach to health enhancement has become more common recently, with social media influencers touting its benefits, and even advertisements for certain GLP-1 medications advocating it. Almost any drug can be microdosed—all it requires is to substantially reduce the prescribed/recommended dosage. In the case of psychedelics, microdosing is generally defined as taking a small-enough dose to not induce acute effects—the intention is to avoid producing an altered state of consciousness.

According to a new RAND study, in 2025 an estimated 10 million U.S. adults microdosed psilocybin, LSD, or MDMA. Beyond microdosing, the study also examined the use of 11 different psychedelic substances among adults in the U.S. In 2025 the five most used psychedelic substances in order were: psilocybin (11 million adults), MDMA (4.7 million), Amanita muscaria mushrooms (3.5 million), ketamine (3.3 million), and LSD (3 million).[1]

There has been increasing interest in the effects of microdosing psychedelics on mental health and well-being, but until now little information has been available about its prevalence. The RAND researchers found that among adults who use psychedelics, microdosing is common. Among those who used psilocybin in the past year, 69 percent microdosed at least once during that 12-month period. Of........

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