Is micro-dosing safe? A reflection after reading or watching Liane Moriarty’s “Nine Perfect Strangers”

Readers coming away from Liane Moriarty’s 2018 novel, “Nine Perfect Strangers,” may not think she was touting the benefits of micro-dosing. Instead, her characterization of the practice leans more heavily into the fact that the drugs used for micro-dosing are illegal in most of the world.

You don’t get the same picture from the Hulu miniseries starring Nicole Kidman. Instead, the story leans more heavily toward the swiftly changing collective opinion surrounding the potential benefits of micro-dosing.

One thing we don’t get from the book or the show is a straight answer: Is micro-dosing safe? Masha – the story’s main character – spends most of both book and show claiming these protocols are perfectly safe. But how does that stack up to reality?

What Is Micro-dosing?

Outside of the often-incorrect portrayals in fiction, what is micro-dosing? As its name suggests, the practice involves taking very low doses of a drug – usually something psychedelic in nature like LSD, psilocybin, or MDMA – to obtain the therapeutic benefits of the substance without reaching the amount needed to trigger the hallucinogenic side effects.

The average micro-dose is roughly one-tenth the recreational dose, taken every three days to give the brain time to adjust. The exact numbers vary depending on the individual’s weight and body type and the substance being taken.

People micro-dose for various reasons, from improving creativity and increasing concentration to reducing physical symptoms and even alleviating some mental health symptoms. There is very little research on the benefits of micro-dosing because, until recent years, the collective conclusion was that these psychedelic substances had no medicinal benefits.

What Micro-dosing Isn’t

The majority of “Nine Perfect Strangers” micro-dosing is an excellent example of what micro-dosing is not. It can offer some significant benefits, but it’s not going to trigger hallucinations that allow you to speak with a deceased loved one.

Some studies show micro-dosing makes it easier for patients to overcome addiction, but unlike the character, Tony, micro-dosing isn’t going to help someone overcome an Oxycodone addiction in an afternoon.

Micro-dosing also isn’t something you’re going to do unknowingly. Masha begins dosing her guests at Tranquilium without their knowledge. Even in these tiny doses, psychedelics will leave you with a nagging sense that something isn’t right. In the best-case scenario, you feel a little nervous or anxious. In the worst, it could trigger full panic attacks or, to use the colloquial phrase, a “bad trip.”

The amount of hallucinogens Masha uses on her guests isn’t close to micro-dosing. She also continually increases their dosages, bringing them closer to a recreational dose than a therapeutic one. Doing so can destroy any potential therapeutic benefit and even create the risk of addiction. Exposing individuals to potent drugs on a consistent basis, even under the guise of therapy, can increase their risk of developing an addiction.

Is Micro-dosing Safe?

There’s no straight answer to this question. In theory, microdosing should be very safe. Patients dosing are doing so in a controlled environment and are monitored throughout their sessions. Barring complications like allergic reactions, microdosing should be safe. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough science yet to back that up. Until 2021, the U.S. wasn’t even issuing grants for researchers to study the benefits of psychedelics.

Micro-dosing has a lot of potential. It could help many people, but it will require a significant shift of perspective surrounding psychedelics. Most people hear LSD or psilocybin right now and picture drug addicts or hippies when, in fact, you’ve got cases like Kevin Saunders.

Saunders was a California mayoral candidate in 2017 who supported the legalization of magic mushrooms. He credits psilocybin with helping him recover from heroin addiction. As micro-dosing gains support, we’ll start seeing more stories like his hitting the news.

The Future of Micro-dosing Treatments

“Nine Perfect Strangers” tells a great story, but it’s not an accurate portrayal of micro-dosing and its potential benefits. We’d suggest watching it if you’re a fan of drama or thriller stories, but don’t take it as a bible on micro-dosing. As more states move to legalize psilocybin, studies surrounding the potential benefits of micro-dosing will paint a clearer picture than an eight-episode miniseries.

Micro-dosing could do a lot of good, but without enough research to back it up, it could also do a lot of harm.

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Beth, the Managing Editor and content manager at Body+Mind, is well-respected in the mental health, nutrition and fitness spaces. In her spare time, Beth enjoys cooking and going for runs with her dog.