Often I get the question, “How much should I microdose and how often?” The answer is always, “It depends on you!” The effect of every dose will change from person to person, day to day and strain to strain. The truth is there’s no perfect standard as people’s neurophysiology differs widely. There are only starting points and rules of thumb. This is a journey into discovering yourself through learning and trial and error. Always start low and slow and allow your body time to tell you know what it needs. [Read More]
With that said, throughout my experience I’ve found people generally fall into 2 categories: Lightweights (like myself) and Heros. Lightweights can feel as little as 50mg of dried mushrooms (500mcg pcb). Some people can take 2-3 grams and barely feel a thing. Lightweights tend to go really low and slow and Heros like to face all their issues at once and move on. Clinical Trials show that whether you take a little or a lot, the results converge to be about the same over time.
Psychedelics like magic mushrooms are generally regarded as forgiving substances to microdose because the experience is more like a warm hug rather than a jagged pill like LSD or Ayahuasca can be. Every dose requires mindful awareness of your set, setting and intention. Magic mushrooms helps the brain to become more neuroplastic or flexible. It’s a great time to develop better habits or conversely reinforce negative one without the proper awareness. Without the right mindset, you’re just getting high and losing an opportunity to boost positive personal development in a shorter amount of time (the whole point). If you’re not integrating after taking more than 2g per session, you’re missing out on an opportunity for deeper learning and insights during this golden neuroplastic period because it eventually fades.
Dosing Frequency
Neurological healing occurs in cycles gradually over time. Psychedelics are HIGHLY experiential so they work best when you’re lucid and mindful to your set, setting and intentions (not asleep). Since we know that magic mushrooms works best when taken in cycles, start on day 1 and wait at least 2 days before the next dose. A break is needed because the body builds rapid tolerance to organic alkaloids plus you’ll probably experience many revelations and “aha moments” between cycles.
Dosing Amounts
On average a microdose is 1/20th of a “standard dose” which in this case is 2000mg (2 grams) ground mushrooms which is 20mg alkaloids. 1/20th would equal 1mg alkaloids which averages to about 100-200mg ground whole fruiting-bodies (aka mushrooms) depending on the sample. The formula is 2000*.05=100mg. If the initial dose was too intense or you doubt it worked, wait until the next cycle and adjust in half or double it until you barely feel it. This is your optimal sub-perceptual dose.
Industry research shows that even neighboring cloned mushrooms will differ in potency. This is because its alkaloid production depends as much on its environment as its genetics. Some strains like truffles are .3% potent and others like Penis Envy can be as high as 3% which is 10 times more potent! Talk about a ROUGH time! The average tends to be around .8-1% for Golden Teachers and around 2-2.4% for Penis Envy strains. As a result, dosing raw mushrooms can be challenging without adequate testing and a sensitive scale.
Effect Window
The effects of shrooms kick in after about 20 to 40 minutes and can last up to 3-6 hours, which is the same amount of time it takes for the body to metabolize active alkaloids.
Set, Setting & Intention
Whenever researching Entheogens like mushrooms it’s important to understand the importance of set, setting and intention because it can be the difference between an amazing and difficult experience. Set is the stage your experience takes place in such as the location and everything surrounding it. Setting is everything you bring with you such as your emotional and physical state. Feeling safe within your set and setting is a critical starting point. Intention is an idea that you plan (or intend) to carry out. Your intention can be anything but it’s best to be purposeful and specific. Is there a life obstacle you’d like to overcome? Here’s a quick rule-of-thumb guide.
- Prepare
- Cleanse. Eat a plant-based, gluten free diet at least 7 days. Avoid news or any negative stimuli.
- Take an emotional inventory. Be aware of your current mood and mindset. Mushrooms may amplify existing energies and emotions.
- Tidy up your environment and mindfully set the space where you’ll spend your time.
- Take off
- Always take entheogens with something acidic on an empty stomach. Avoid eating for at least 30 minutes.
- Fun things to do in-flight: journal, track mood, sensory deprivation (headphones/blindfold), musical journeys, meditation, ecstatic dance, breath-work, put on your shades and go for a walk!
- Avoid “screens” in general.
Integration & Neuroplasticity
It’s important to have a support circle of trusted people near you that can help you assimilate everything from your mushroom experience. It took me YEARS to integrate a single intense hero dose. Various Entheogenic and medicinal mushrooms are powerful in aiding the brain with “neuroplasticity” – a period of time where the minds’ flexible state makes shifting poor life habits much easier. Integration is the action by which someone processes their mystical experience and the results which may come after. To integrate means to “make whole”, and the process is intended to create functional and fulfilled beings. Feeling at peace and being functional can feel like a superpower if all you’re used to is chaos and despair. There are many facilitators and integrators now that speed the recovery of trauma.
I took too much! What do I do?
First, don’t panic! An overdose refers to taking more of a substance than the body can handle in one moment. “can you overdose on shrooms?” The answer is yes; however, the “toxic” amount of mushrooms is over 6 pounds or so. You may feel terrible but IT WILL PASS and YOU ARE SAFE. Staying calm is the best thing you can do and a great way to accomplish this is breathing exercises like Wim-Hof Breathing Techniques. Alkaline water could neutralize whatever actives are still in your gut but it’s probably too late at that point. A Psychedelic trip has many phases and this too will pass. Just keep in mind that there is no such thing as a bad trip – just one you’re not ready for!
Microdosing & Alcohol
Microdosing (100-200mg dry) mushrooms is generally regarded as safe or synergistic with social compounds like alcohol and tobacco. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s beneficial because booze can still result in grumpiness, severe dehydration, memory loss and even DUI.
Taking shrooms with alcohol or other substances can also increase your chances of overdosing, an unfortunately common habit among psychedelic drug users. If you’re new to mushrooms, we recommend experiencing any new compound by itself a few times until you get a feel for it. Only then can you truly perceive any synergistic properties as beneficial or not when combined.
It’s not uncommon for folks to naturally curtail or totally stop drinking after microdosing. Instead of booze, take a microdose with club soda and lime. This removes the pressure of people buying you drinks and the lime’s citric acid activates the alkaloids. 🍄✌🏼
