LOLA Issue Four

High Times
Microdosing
“THERE’S DEFINITELY SOMETHING
MAJOR HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. I THINK
THESE DRUGS WILL PLAY A KEY ROLE
IN THE FUTURE, IN PSYCHIATRY AND
OTHER FIELDS OF MEDICINE.”
ple today experience real boredom, everyday
life may be monotone. It’s a tool to make
things more enjoyable.” In his opinion, there
are parallels with Ritalin usage, especially as
a means of driving up productivity.
As part of her groundwork, and in true
gonzo style, Susan decided to experience
microdosing for herself. “I wanted to try
it because people were saying it opens up
different pathways in your mind,” she says.
“I wanted to see whether it’s bullshit or not,
to know what it does and doesn’t do.” But in
embarking on this endeavour, she discovered
one of microdosing’s biggest difficulties:
how to measure an accurate dose.
Typically, one tab of acid contains
100µg of LSD. The best way to siphon off
a microdose – between 5–15µg according
to Dr Jungaberle – is to soak a tab in
100ml of distilled water overnight. Storing
it in the fridge preserves its potency
for approximately one month. Using a
syringe or pipette and taking it neat or
in tea is the most precise way to hit the
sweet spot, though more haphazard
microdosers simply snip off a tiny corner
of the tab and hope for the best.
Susan recounts sampling her first
microdose one Saturday. Shortly afterwards
as she went to meet a friend in a
café, it quickly dawned on her she’d had
more than enough. “When I got there I
was super hyperactive, my friend asked
me why I was being so giggly. I told him
about microdosing. He got me to look
him in the eye, and he said, ‘Oh my God,
you’re high!’” She estimates she took
about 30µg, double the ideal amount.
The following time she tried it, it didn’t
have much of an effect. Dr Jungaberle
notes that this is quite common: “Obviously
the dose depends on the individual,
its effects can vary. There are people
who’re very sensitive to LSD and people
who won’t feel anything on such a small
amount.” It’s hard to gauge how to hit the
jackpot in this psychedelic lottery.
In retrospect, Susan is sceptical of how microdosing
has been extolled as a means to
increase productivity and creative output:
“I think it’s a bit hypocritical using it to
achieve something; it feeds into our digital,
non-stop, don’t-sleep, we’re-all-replaceable
world.” Though this critique has traction,
it doesn’t quite gel with the reality of other
Berliners who’re readily portioning out
their own micro-odysseys.
A week later, Max (also not his real
name) sits in the spring sun beside Wedding’s
lesser-known Schifffahrtskanal, a
secluded stretch of water bordering the
western edge of the district. It is midday
and it seems a beautiful enough location
without psychoactive drugs – but Max
is here to bare all about his psychedelic
encounters. Originally from the US, he’s
been living in Berlin on-and-off since the
early 2000s. He divides his time between
photography, filmmaking, and teaching
English. He’s been consistently microdosing
10µg of diluted LSD every fourth day
for the last three months.
Before leaving his flat, Max carefully
measured out a tiny droplet of acid and
swallowed it. It’s striking how lucid he is.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
LSD is synthesised from the lysergic
acid found in ergot fungi, an
organism that grows on rye. There
is widespread belief that kykeon, a
drink imbibed during Ancient Greek
cult initiations, contained hallucinogens
derived from ergot.
Albert Hofmann
The LSD-pioneer was rumoured to
have microdosed for decades, well
into his old age. He died in 2008 at
the age of 102.
Bicycle Day
April 19th 1943 is the day that
Hofmann tested the effects of LSD
on himself. After ingesting 250μg
and experiencing an extraordinary
change in perception, he cycled
home. The anniversary of this
event is now celebrated among
LSD enthusiasts around the world
as ‘Bicycle Day’.
Shroom for Improvement
Microdosing isn’t limited to LSD.
People also consume tiny amounts
of psilocybin, psilocin or baeocystin
mushrooms in order to feel similar
enhancements to creativity and
productivity.
Berlin’s LSD Kiez
Prenzlauer Berg’s Helmholtzkiez
is known locally as the LSD-Viertel.
However, that’s not because
residents are partial to tripping; it
gets its name from the three main
roads that intersect the neighbourhood:
Lychener- Schliemann-
and Dunckerstraße.
32 Issue Four