Accounting for Microdosing Classic Psychedelics

Introduction

Microdosing classic psychedelics (for example LSD and psilocybin) involves taking sub‑perceptual or very small doses with the aim of producing subtle improvements in mood, creativity, cognition, or functioning rather than the full psychedelic ‘‘trip’’. Popular and media attention to microdosing has emphasised potential benefits, but classic psychedelics remain illegal in many jurisdictions and social stigma persists. The paper uses the sociology of accounts — a framework distinguishing excuses (denials of responsibility) from justifications (acceptance of responsibility while arguing the act is permissible in context) — to examine how people who microdose linguistically manage potential stigma and align their behaviour with societal expectations. Beaton and colleagues set out to explore how people who currently or formerly microdosed classic psychedelics account for that behaviour when questioned. Using semistructured interviews, the study investigates whether participants offered excuses or justifications and identifies the specific justificatory themes they used to neutralise or normalise microdosing in social contexts.