Silicon Valley professionals are taking LSD at work to increase productivity

Silicon Valley professionals are taking LSD at work to increase productivity
An increasing number of twenty-somethings are reportedly 'micro-dosing' on psychedelic drugs - and they say it's making them better workers
           
By Adam Boult 3:35PM GMT 26 Nov 2015
Could taking LSD at work make your more productive?

It seems unlikely, but that’s apparently what some Silicon Valley professionals have been doing - and reporting great results.

According to Rolling Stone, a growing number of people are experimenting with "microdoses" of psychedelics to help them work.

A microdose of LSD is around 10-15 micrograms, approximately a tenth of a “normal” dose.
At that dosage, Rolling Stone describes the drug’s effects as “subperceptual”: " 'Enough, says Rick Doblin, founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, ‘to feel a little bit of energy lift, a little bit of insight, but not so much that you are tripping.’”

Psychedelics researcher Dr James Fadiman discussed microdosing with Vice, saying: ‘People do it and they’re eating better, sleeping better, they’re often returning to exercise or yoga or meditation. It’s as if messages are passing through their body more easily.”

“But what many people are reporting is, at the end of the day, they say, ‘That was a really good day.’ You know, that kind of day when things kind of work.”

“You’re doing a task you normally couldn’t stand for two hours, but you do it for three or four. You eat properly. Maybe you do one more set of reps. Just a good day. That seems to be what we’re discovering.”

At a conference in New York last month, Canadian documentarian John Andrew discussed his experiences with microdoses of psilocybin mushrooms, which he took every day for six months: “I experienced this clarity that is almost indescribable …. I felt a homeostasis, a feeling that despite what's going on, bad or good, everything was OK." After six months he felt he was "maximizing [his] potential."

However, not all reports about microdosing on hallucinogens are positive. On a recent episode of the Reply All podcast host PJ Vogt described having mixed experiences with microdosing at work, with colleagues describing his behaviour as “manic and weird”.

Earlier this year 15-year-old Arthur Cave, son of musician Nick Cave, fell to his death from a cliff after taking LSD. At the inquest into his death, clinical scientist Amber Crampton said there was evidence that LSD had seen a resurgence in popularity.

"It used to be popular in the 60s and 70s,” she told the court. “It's more popular now than many people are aware."


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