Microdosing of Psychoactive Substances in Business Practice
Karel Lehmert, Eva Ambrozova, Vratislav Pokorný, Jiří Koleňák
Businesses December 6, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/businesses1030014 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Business managers and creative professionals |
| Interventions | LSD cocaine |
| Dose | subtle doses |
| Topics | Microdosing |
| Keywords | Dosing Drugs of abuse Pharmacology |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key findings | Microdosing of psychoactive substances provides a mild high without significant behavioral changes or withdrawal, and builds decreasing tolerance differently for stimulants versus psychedelics. |
Abstract
Abusing psychoactive substances has been a popular sport in the business world since the mid-19th century. First, they were appreciated for their stimulating or tonic effects, but later with psychedelics on the scene, their importance in subculture matured. In the last decade, it has become very popular to use LSD and cocaine in subtle doses, which provides users with a high that is enough to feel their psychoactive potential, but not as high that significant behavioral changes can be seen. Unlike regular use, microdosing is usually sufficient to affect a few without undue finish and withdrawal symptoms. It allows for abuse in the regular mode of the working week with a rest phase on the weekend. The diametric difference between the abuse of standard dosing and micro-dosing is also in the decreasing tolerance of the organism. Over time, an organism permanently exposed to microdosing of stimulants is sufficient to achieve a gradually decreasing dose effect that psychedelics develop resistance to. Case studies of such prolonged use were described and analyzed to show the role of microdosing in the creative world and for business managers. Initial field research, funded by the Newton University internal grant, focused on contamination mapping in office spaces for employees in target positions. Further research continues on the investigation of microdosing in conditions of corporate reality.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on microdosing, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microdosing psilocybin for chronic pain: a case series Individuals with chronic neuropathic pain | 2022 | Case series | n = 3 |
| Treatment of neuropathic pain with repeated low-dose MDMA: a case report. 64-year-old male with neuropathic pain after chemotherapy and traumatic life experiences | 2025 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Psycholytic dosing or 'microdosing' of Amanita muscaria (red fly agaric) mushrooms—A retrospective case study A woman in her early thirties with depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders from... | 2023 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Clinical improvement following an integrative iboga microdosing protocol in post-concussive and hypoxic brain injury syndromes: a case series Three individuals with persistent neurologic symptoms after traumatic brain injury or... | 2026 | Case series | n = 3 |
| The use of drug checking legislation to facilitate illicit drug consumption research: psychedelic microdosing as a case example People who microdose (PWM) in New Zealand | 2026 | Case study |