‘Microdosing’ on psychedelics has risen thanks to Covid – if it’s happening people need a safe environment

The Covid pandemic has not only battered people physically it has taken its toll on the mental health of millions. Anyone trying to seek counselling or other forms of support will know how difficult this is, with waiting lists running into months not weeks. Little surprise then that people have found their own solutions to improving how they feel and think.

The Global Drug Survey, as the name suggests. is an international probe into drug use by people from a range of countries, including the UK. This year’s results have just been published and highlight the way people have used drugs during the pandemic. One of many fascinating findings is that recreational drug users have moved to microdosing psychedelic drugs like LSD and magic mushrooms to mitigate poor mental health. While a normal dose of LSD might be 100 micrograms, microdosing typically involves taking just a tenth of this amount in a single dose.

It might seem counterintuitive for someone who already has problems with their mental health to be taking a psychoactive drug in an attempt to improve how they feel. However, the experience of these respondents mirrors the growing scientific interest in this class of drugs as a potential treatment for mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. Although research isn’t conclusive, it does show that these drugs have some promise, albeit when combined with specialist therapy.

What is really worrying about this newly reported phenomenon is that half of the respondents who took psychiatric medication in addition to microdosing psychedelics either reduced or stopped their prescribed drugs. Although it’s not clear from the survey, the concern is that this had been done without medical supervision. Reducing or abruptly stopping antidepressants and anxiolytics (drugs used to relieve anxiety) can produce significant withdrawal symptoms – the last thing you need when you are already feeling psychologically fragile.

The survey also throws up other interesting ways people have adapted their drug use during the pandemic. In the main, this has involved reducing the potential for spread of the virus, such as not sharing when using two of the most popular drugs cannabis and cocaine. Respondents reported a reduction in sharing a smoked joint of cannabis or straws used to snort cocaine. Encouragingly and perhaps counter to the popular depiction of the “deviant” drug user, over half of the respondents had employed Covid-safe practices like opening windows when inside or observing social distancing when using drugs with others.

In some ways we shouldn’t be surprised by any of this, as people have always adapted their drug use to environmental changes, whether that be a global pandemic or peaks and troughs in supply of substances. But what this does remind us of is that people who use drugs aren’t irresponsible or selfish – despite politicians and other senior figures’ attempts to paint them this way, as in the recent public messaging about cocaine users being responsible for violent crime.

The renewed interest in the potential of psychedelic drugs is welcome and judging by the millions of dollars being poured into research, investors are optimistic. Once again, the UK government has elected to hamper any efforts to provide a friendly environment for home grown research into psychedelics by refusing to reschedule these drugs which would reduce the current bureaucratic rampart.

Nonetheless, it seems many people have made their own minds up about what works for them. It’s a pity we can’t provide a safer environment for them to self-medicate in.

Ian Hamilton is a senior lecturer in addiction and mental health at the University of York.