Another article on this, not paywalled:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/mar/02/microdosing-...
The actual study is here:
Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
11–20 of 114 posts
Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#12Unless I'm misreading, the study seems to only analyze the participant's self-evaluation of their emotions. In other words it provides no evidence for/against "boosted levels of creativity, empathy".
Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#13To the people illegally micro-dosing: Why would you open yourself up to the liability of committing a felony crime for a placebo effect? The risk vs reward doesn’t seem to pan out for me.
Micro-dosing also feels quite nice. It has a major mood-brightening effect. It's the main reason I do it. I don't even think it improves work at all. But if you're happier you might do better work.
Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#14To the people illegally micro-dosing: Why would you open yourself up to the liability of committing a felony crime for a placebo effect? The risk vs reward doesn’t seem to pan out for me.
Psychedelics are not all controlled substances, eg 1P-LSD is generally legal in North America.
Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#15Just from a look at the chart, it seems there is so a lot of room for qualitatively awesome effects from the drug itself, with the caveat being that it depends on the individual.
The headline could be interpreted by some as "hey, the placebo is just as good as the real thing, losers" but this only seems likely to be true for some who are taking it, not all...
...Or am I misreading?
Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#16There is a similar effect when consuming alcoholic drinks in social settings: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-020-00321-0
> “Our study confirms the benefits of microdosing,..."
This is really horrible phrasing since normal the normal usage of the term "benefits" in this context would mean benefits relative to a placebo. In this experiments the benefits are zero since the LSD and control pills had the same effects.
Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#17Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#18To the people illegally micro-dosing: Why would you open yourself up to the liability of committing a felony crime for a placebo effect? The risk vs reward doesn’t seem to pan out for me.
The hype around microdosing has been off the charts in the past few years. The claimed benefits range from improving mood to treating depression to improving cognition.
As this study shows, that hype might actually explain some of the effect. People primed to think they were microdosing claimed to feel significant improvements, even when receiving placebo.
Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#19This makes sense to me. I've never had a benefit from a microdose and now only do full doses.
Re: Microdosing study shows the placebo effect of taking psychelics
#20My drug of choice is placebo. Minimal side effects. Inexpensive. The more I use it, the better it works. Has effects on a variety of ailments, both physical and psychological. I'm surprised they don't sell branded placebo at the pharmacy - "Super Placebo - now with organic filler". I think it could be a hot seller.