If you heard the story people had been taking small doses of LSD to 'open their minds' or 'be more productive' you'd maybe think you were listening to psychedelic tales of the 60s and 70s.

However, Chris Kilham, a medicine hunter who travels the world searching for natural remedies through medicinal plant research, says more and more people are microdosing LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) to 'increase productivity' in Silicon Valley.

Credit: PA

He explains how people are using the illegal drug one or more days a week and it's not for a typical psychedelic high but to become more focused for their highly technical jobs.

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Kilham says that microdosers report to feel more productive, experience more ease moving through the day, become more sensitive with their communication to others and have enhanced mental clarity.

Though he says people have felt positive with the microdosing, he doesn't believe there are no downsides to taking the substance.

Taking any drug is dangerous and, as Kilham explains, there is no guarantee, for anyone who decides to experiment with microdosing that the substance they will get will be a 'good' quality drug that will not have any negative impact on their health.

He also says he believes some people are 'psychologically unstable' and should not microdose at all.

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Credit: PA

Here, he explains LSD microdosing, using small doses of the illegal drug to increase productivity, as a growing trend in Silicon Valley.

As the drug is illegal it is completely unknown what kind of long-term effects this can have on people. In order to tackle this, the Beckley Foundation and Imperial College London launched a study in September this year to conduct research into the impacts of microdosing.

It's aimed at people who already take small doses of the drug to enhance focus and productivity - some will be given a placebo, and some will be given their normal dose.

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This will be the first major study on microdosing, but it is controversial as LSD is a powerful hallucinogenic and a class A drug under UK Law. Even possession of it is illegal and can get you up to seven years in prison.

Although there is currently no evidence to suggest LSD does any long-term damage to the body or directly causes long-term psychological damage, it can put many people at risk leading to serious, longer-term implications for that person if they have a history of mental health problems.

It may also be responsible for setting off a mental health problem that had previously gone unnoticed.

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