microdose
What is mushroom microdosing? Microdosing means that you are ingesting a ‘subthreshold’ dose of psychedelic mushrooms. This subthreshold is typically one-tenth to one-twentieth of a typical recreational dose. The objective is to experience the therapeutic benefits without the full psychedelic effects.
Psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, interacts with the serotonin receptors in the brain, leading to altered states of consciousness.
HOW TO MICRODOSE MUSHROOMS
There are several well-known protocols that can offer you a structured routine for microdosing psilocybin. We’re going to share three with you today that have a few key differences regarding how often you should be taking your doses.
What makes each of these protocols different is the number of “off” days that you have. “Off” days are when you don’t take a microdose. Generally speaking, the best protocols have 1-3 days in between doses.
Why take “off” days? Taking days off from microdosing caters to our body’s natural tolerance-building mechanisms. Rest days allow you to feel the full effects of the microdose without building up a tolerance and having the ‘up’ your dose.
The three protocols we’re going to share with you are: The Fadiman Protocol, The Stamets Stack and intuitive microdosing.
Low Dose: 0.5 to 2 Grams
0.5 to 2 grams of mushrooms is considered a low dose.
Unlike microdosing, this dosage should offer some mild effects, likely a euphoric state and sensory experiences. Depending on the strain, you can expect to feel the effects for anywhere from 2 – 8 hours, so plan accordingly.
You can expect to feel light, euphoric, and may see visuals. This is often beautiful when in nature, and comes through bright, vivid colors, and smiling trees.
Your judgment may be impaired, so it’s not recommended to take a low dose of magic mushrooms if you’re planning on driving, going to work, taking care of children, or hosting a board meeting.
Medium Dose: 2 to 3 Grams
A medium dose of magic mushrooms is 2 to 3 grams of dried mushrooms.
This dosage may offer all the effects of a low dose with some hallucinogenic symptoms. You may feel euphoric and sensory experiences — just more intensely. You may see brighter colors, more movement, and some visible alterations that aren’t really there. You can expect to have interesting, new thoughts enter your mind.
High Dose: 3 to 5 Grams
3 to 5 grams of mushrooms is considered a high dose of magic mushrooms.
If you’re taking magic mushrooms for a mind-altering experience, you may want to take this dosage. You will likely experience hallucinations and sensory distortions (objects may appear larger than they actually are, objects will change, the room may darken or lighten, or visual details may become distorted).
You may also experience cross-sensory experiences, such as seeing sounds or smelling colors, an experience known as synesthesia.
Heroic Dose: 5+ Grams or More
A very high dose of psilocybin is called a “heroic” dose or a “committed” dose. Ethnobotanist Terance McKenna (a supporter of psychedelic research) coined both of these terms. Five grams of psilocybin (or more) will produce the most dramatic effects.
People who take five grams or more of magic mushrooms may experience full ego death and loss of reality. If you’re planning on taking this high of a magic mushroom dose, you’ll most certainly want to be supervised (by a trip sitter, guide, therapist, doctor, or a trusted friend with psychedelic experience). You’ll want to be in a safe, calm, and quiet place—a heroic dose of mushrooms is not a social experience.
THE FADIMAN PROTOCOL
From our research, the Fadiman Protocol is one of the most favored in the community. It was created by Dr. James Fadiman who created this protocol with specific “off” days for you to gain a clear understanding of the effects that your microdoses are producing.
This can be a helpful tool for first time microdosers as it allows you to gauge and compare the differences between when you take psilocybin and when you don’t. As with any protocol, you can determine how long you want to microdose for. Usually you might continue a microdosing cycle for 4-8 weeks but if you feel that you have a tolerance building, you can reset by taking a 2-4 week rest.
Microdosing Protocol
- Day 1: 1st microdose
- Day 2: Transition day (not taking anything, but residual effects are felt)
- Day 3: Normal day (not taking a dose)
- Day 4: 2nd microdose
For example, if you take your first dose on Monday, you wouldn’t take anything on Tuesday or Wednesday. Your second dose would be on Thursday and then you would rest on Friday and Saturday. Then you would take your third dose on Sunday. Then again on Wednesday, and so on.
The Stamets Stack
The Stamets Stack was coined by Paul Stamets. This microdosing protocol involves “stacking” several supplements to create a nootropic stack. This protocol also includes Lion’s Mane.
Microdosing Protocol:
- Days 1-4: Microdosing days
- Days 5-7: Transition days
- Days 8-11: Microdosing days
- Days 12-14: Transition Days
Lion’s Mane promotes neurogenesis and stimulates nerve growth, just like psilocybin. Stamet’s research states that because niacin works as a flushing agent, it pushes the Lions Mane and psilocybin compounds to the extremities of our neurons and through the brain and blood barrier – further promoting neural repair.
INTUITIVE MICRODOSING
Usually, when people have experienced a few cycles of one or more of the other protocols, they’ll switch to an intuitive routine of microdosing. This way, depending on your needs and environment, you can choose to microdose when you feel it’s necessary.
No matter what, you should always leave one full day of being completely sober between microdoses, or at very least reserve 2 consecutive days out of a 7-day period to remain sober. As we continue to heal, we must periodically check in on our natural state and work to integrate tools like microdosing, into our daily lives – not become dependent on them as a form of escapism.
Why Take a Heroic Dose?
Take a heroic dose if you’re familiar with psychedelics (specifically magic mushrooms) and want to experience a total ego death (which is not as scary as it sounds but is still a major commitment).
Ego death can feel like a complete loss of sense of self and self-identity. It’s often described as a feeling of dying or becoming one with the world. It is a temporary experience that occurs in Users who undergo an ego death often report feelings of bliss, euphoria, or peace during the ego death. In psilocybin trials on terminal cancer patients, ego death was simply a precursor to actual death and allowed patients to let go of the fear of dying. One may want to experience an ego death so they can truly experience living each day without the fear of death, which can be extremely liberating.
Heroic doses help us work through trauma, feel connection, and enhance spirituality. Users often report feelings of deeper connection, meaning, and oneness, along with a decreased fear of death.
Determine Your Dosage: What Dose of Magic Mushrooms To Take?
Preparation and integration are important parts of any psychedelic journey. Before taking any psychedelics, you should prepare for your psychedelic journey, whether macro or micro, with self-reflection, preparation, and proper guidance— including consultation with a medical professional and a mental health professional.
You can start by asking yourself a few simple questions.
1. How do you want to feel?
First things first, your dosage and your mindset will determine how you feel on magic mushrooms. So, it’s important to be honest with yourself about this question.
Using the above dosage guide as a jumping-off point, consider your desired mental state and any fears or reservations you may have. Whether you want to feel the psychedelic effects or not is an important factor when determining how much to take.
Typically, it takes 30 minutes to start to feel the effects of psilocybin. As we said above, start low and go slow. You can always take more if you’re not feeling it after 30 minutes to an hour but you can’t “take less” once you’ve started feeling the effects strongly. Unlike alcohol, mushrooms take longer to metabolize in the body and the effects can last for many hours.
If you’ve never taken psychedelics before, haven’t taken them in a long time, or are trying a new strain, we always recommend going slightly lower to start. You can always take more to enhance your experience later.
2. Why are you Taking Magic Mushrooms?
We recommend setting an intention before every journey, no matter the dosahttps://hempearth.ca/product-category/mushrooms/ge. Some people explore psychedelics for creative enhancements, some from mental health benefits and others out of curiosity. The “why” and your intentions should help you determine your dose.
