microdosing

[mahy-kroh-doh-sing]

noun

1. the practice of taking or administering very small amounts of a psychoactive drug, such as cannabis, LSD, or psilocybin, to improve mood or enhance cognitive functioning, without hallucinogenic or other disorienting effects.

2. the practice of administering a much smaller amount of a medicine than is normally used or prescribed.

   Microdosing with lithium is being studied as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Word History and Origins

Origin of microdosing¹

First recorded in 1965–70; microdos(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The people populating Lola’s world are hosting inane-sounding podcasts, falling for multi-level marketing schemes and microdosing daily, erasing any sense of awe in the process.

From Los Angeles Times

With his books and lectures, Vishnevsky almost single-handedly started a massively popular trend of Russians microdosing or trying to invoke lucid dreams and mystical experiences with fly agaric.

From Salon

Sadly, Russian conquest and Soviet repression have diminished Indigenous shamanism, but thanks to Vishnevsky and his wife, as well as celebrities such as actor and self-admitted psychonaut Vladimir Epifantsev, microdosing has made its way into Russian popular culture.

From Salon

Microdosing entails ingesting small red fly agaric capsules throughout the day for a mildly sedative sensation for a good nights’ sleep, as well as vivid, lucid dreaming.

From Salon

Fellow mycologists have questioned Vishnevsky's motives, pointing to his microdosing business empire, and dismiss his brand of fungotherapy as both dangerous and ineffective.

From Salon