Professionals are increasingly taking low doses of illegal drugs such as LSD and 'magic' mushrooms to improve their mood and performance at work.

The trend for 'microdosing', as it's known, has reportedly become particularly popular in California's affluent Silicon Valley.

A growing number of people are reportedly taking the substances every day before work to reduce their anxiety.

Devotees do not take enough to 'trip' but ingest regular, barely perceptible doses with the aim of experiencing boosted mental clarity and creativity.

Yet experts warn they are risking their mental health by ignoring the potential long-term risks.

People who 'microdose' ingest small doses of hallucinogens like 'magic' mushrooms (stock)

EXPERTS WARN OVER MICRODOSING'S RISK TO MENTAL HEALTH Addiction experts warn that people who microdose could be risking irreversible serious mental health problems. Dr Bruce Trathen, consultant addiction psychiatrist at Serena House, a detox clinic in central London, said: ‘There have been some anecdotal reports that microdosing can improve mental performance and may even help alleviate depression. ‘However, it is also well established that use of stimulant and hallucinogenic drugs can trigger psychotic illnesses, including schizophrenia in some people. ‘The fact that the doses used are small does not necessarily mean an individual will avoid such damaging effects, which in the worst case can be lifelong. ‘When drugs come to market for prescription, laws dictate that they have endured many phases of testing to assess their efficacy and safety for use in humans. ‘There just hasn’t been enough research on the effects of micro-dosing. And of course, these drugs are illegal.’ Advertisement

'I was less anxious, less depressed'

For over a year, Janet Lai Chang, 26, a digital marketer based in San Francisco, took psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms - every day before work as part of a personal experiment.

She said: 'I had been struggling with a lot of social anxiety. It was really preventing me from advancing professionally.'

Her experiment with the drugs began after her angst in social situations caused her to back out of a talk at Harvard University, as well as a TedX talk in California.

In February last year, Ms Chang started taking small does – 0.2 grams – of magic mushrooms every week day.

'I was less anxious, less depressed, more open, more extroverted,' she told the New Scientist.

'I was more present in the moment. It's harder to get into the flow of the focused solo work that I'm normally really good at. But it's good for the social aspect.'

Ms Chang says abuse she suffered as a child left her with post-traumatic stress disorder.

When she was microdosing, she says she 'could really feel' the anger she had suppressed.

After taking the substance almost every day for nine months, Ms Chang reduced her intake to a few times a week before stopping in April because she did not want to become dependent on the habit.

She presented her experience of microdosing at the Quantified Self conference in Amsterdam.

Dr Albert Hofmann discovered LSD in 1943

How prevalent is microdosing?

The idea of microdosing most probably came from Dr Albert Hofmann, the chemist who gave the world LSD.

After his inadvertent discovery of the mind-altering drug back in 1943, he regularly took small doses for at least the last couple of decades of his life.

The Swiss scientist revealed he would mainly use it when he was walking in woods and said it clarified his thinking.

Dr Hoffmann lived to be 102 and was still giving two-hour lectures at 100.

It is unclear exactly how many people are microdosing today. Yet, according to James Fadiman, an author on the subject, it is more than 100,000 people worldwide.

Mr Fadiman based this estimate on the self-reported testimonies he collected for his book 'The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide', a how-to manual for safe and therapeutic psychedelic drug experiences.

What are the effects?

Internet forums are full of microdosers sharing their experiences.

In one, a 26-year-old male studying for his final year of a bachelor’s degree while working up to 40 hours a week feels the habit boosts his mental clarity.

He wrote: 'After doing extensive research on microdosing and reading about the potential to help alleviate depression, increase energy levels, increase creativity and elevate mood I decided to pursue it for its therapeutic value.

'My thoughts seem to become more fluid and seem to be accessed easier. Reading becomes much more focused and I get involved in the text.'

He reported scoring a B+/A- average on his papers.

There are a small number of advocates of microdosing in the medical community.

Scientist Amanda Feilding, the founder and director of the Beckley Foundation in Oxford, has long been a fan.

Before it was made illegal in 1968, Ms Feilding would take LSD to boost her creativity and even found her performance in the Chinese abstract board game 'Go' improved.

Speaking to Motherboard, Ms Feilding said: 'I found that if I was on LSD and my opponent wasn't, I won more games.

'For me that was a very clear indication that it improves cognitive function, particularly a kind of intuitive pattern recognition.'

To test her theory, Ms Feilding is now planning to run the first ever brain imaging study on microdosing.

Professor David Nutt (pictured) has carried out studies that demonstrate LSD and magic mushrooms change how different regions of the brain communicate with each other

What research tells us

A study back in 2011 found that just one strong dose of hallucinogenic mushrooms can alter a person's personality for more than a year and even permanently.

People who were given psilocybin in magic mushrooms, which causes hallucinations and feelings of transcendence, demonstrated a more 'open' personality after their experience.

This effect persisted for at least 14 months, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found.

A small trial conducted last year by Imperial College London found that magic mushrooms ease severe depression. Psilocybin alleviated symptoms in all 12 volunteers for three weeks and kept the condition away in five of them for three months.

Yet, the researchers urged people not to try magic mushrooms themselves.

Professor David Nutt – who was left go from his position as the Government's chief drug adviser in 2009 after claiming that ecstasy and LSD are less dangerous than alcohol – has carried out studies that demonstrate LSD and magic mushroom change how different parts of the brain communicate with each other.

'These drugs change cortical functions, making them more fluid and less rigid. At least big doses do – that's what our imaging studies tell us – and maybe low doses to a lesser extent,' he told Wired.

'This may help certain brain areas work in more flexible and expansive ways that might give better outcomes.'

Last month, an organisation called Fundamental launched a $2 million crowdfunding campaign to raise money for controlled, rigorous trials of the effects of LSD microdosing.

If the fundraising is successful, trials will be carried out by Ms Feilding, as well as Professor David Nutt, who is now the director of the Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.