The Atlantic

Here’s What Happens When a Few Dozen People Take Small Doses of Psychedelics

There’s new—and possibly dubious—evidence that “microdosing” hallucinogenic drugs makes people more creative.
Source: Mendowong Photography / Getty / The Atlantic

In high school, my rebellious friends used to tell me I was way too neurotic to handle hallucinogens such as mushrooms and acid. But science is beginning to show that some forms of psychedelics may be able to calm anxieties and lift people out of depression. Prominent thinkers such as Michael Pollan and Ayelet Waldman have begun exploring the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics in certain contexts.

In Silicon Valley and beyond, some people are taking small amounts of psychedelics, a practice known as “microdosing” that is to aid productivity. Now a new study suggests that microdoses of of magic mushrooms—can boost creativity, too.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic5 min readAmerican Government
What Nikki Haley Is Trying to Prove
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Nikki Haley faces terrible odds in her home state of
The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies
The Atlantic3 min read
They Rode the Rails, Made Friends, and Fell Out of Love With America
The open road is the great American literary device. Whether the example is Jack Kerouac or Tracy Chapman, the national canon is full of travel tales that observe America’s idiosyncrasies and inequalities, its dark corners and lost wanderers, but ult

Related Books & Audiobooks