text: While higher doses of psychedelic drugs such as LSD and psilocybin cause trippy visual hallucinations, lower doses may not cause the same impairments, anecdotal reports suggest. 
   
   Editor's Note: This article was updated at 5:15 p.m. E.T. 
   
   For Martijn Schirp, it's a way to make an ordinary day just a little bit better. 
   
   A former poker player and recent graduate in interdisciplinary science in Amsterdam, Schirp has been experimenting with a new way to take psychedelic drugs: Called microdosing, it involves routinely taking a small fraction of a normal dose of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or magic mushrooms (the latter is legal to purchase in coffeeshops in Amsterdam but not the former). 
   
   Microdosing has gained a cult following amongst a small group of hallucinogen enthusiasts like Schirp, who now writes at HighExistence.com. Proponents report improvements in perception, mood and focus, minus the trippy tangerine trees and marmalade skies normally associated with psychedelics. 
   
   Schirp said he prefers to microdose when he's immersed in creative or contemplative activities, such as writing, painting, meditating or doing yoga. 
   
   "It's like the coffee to wake up the mind-body connection. When I notice it is working, depending on the dosage, time seems to be slowing down a bit, everything seems covered with a layer of extra significance," Schirp told Live Science in an email. 
   
   Given his positive experiences with higher doses of psychedelics, "microdosing offered a way to get a taste of this without [the experience] completely overwhelming me," Schirp said. [Trippy Tales: The History of 8 Hallucinogens] 
   
   But while the effects Schirp and others describe are plausible from a physiological perspective, microdosing is uncharted territory, said Matt Johnson, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, who has studied the behavioral effects of psychedelic drugs. Scientists have yet to run a clinical trial to assess the effects (or lack thereof) of microdosing. Johnson added that taking a smaller dose of a psychedelic is safer than taking a large dose, but the way people tend to do it — regularly taking small doses every several days — could have long-term side effects. 
   
   Just a little bit 
   
   The idea of taking small doses of psychedelics has been around for a while. The inventor of LSD, Albert Hofmann, was known to microdose in his old age and told a friend that microdosing was an under-researched area. But microdosing gained greater visibility when James Fadiman, a psychologist and researcher at Sofia University in Palo Alto, California, described it in his book "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide" (Park Street Press, 2011). 
   
   Since then, Fadiman has received about 50 anecdotal reports from microdosers around the world. Most report positive, barely perceptible shifts while microdosing, Fadiman said. [Images: Scientists Analyze Drawings by an Acid-Tripping Artist] 
   
   "What people say is that whatever they're doing, they seem to be doing it a little better," Fadiman told Live Science. "They're a little kinder, a little bit nicer with their kids." 
   
   People with creative jobs report improved focus and an ability to enter the state of flow more easily. Some report a desire to eat healthier or start meditating, Fadiman said. 
   
   "It's like they tend to live a little better," Fadiman said. 
   
   Still others report taking the teeny doses of psychedelics for psychiatric conditions, said Brad Burge, the director of marketing and communications at Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in Santa Cruz, California, where scientists study the effect of psychedelics on medical conditions such as PTSD. 
   
   "I've heard anecdotally of people using it for depression, seasonal affective disorder, anxiety, OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder]," Burge told Live Science. "With microdoses, the point would be to create subtle changes in people's psychopharmacology or experience, in much the same way as most traditional pharmaceuticals are used now." 
   
   Plausible mechanism, no evidence 
   
   The effects people report with microdoses of LSD, psilocybin, DMT or other "classic" psychedelics aren't completely implausible, Johnson said. All of these drugs work by activating a particular receptor in the brain known as the serotonin 5HT-2A receptor. This receptor fuels the release of the "feel-good" brain chemical, serotonin, which creates a domino effect in the brain that leads to many other brain changes. 
   
   At high doses, these drugs temporarily, but radically, reshape brain networks; for instance, one study found that magic mushrooms create a hyperconnected brain. But antidepressants like Prozac also target serotonin receptors, so it's possible that a low, constant dose of a psychedelic might work in a similar manner, Johnson said. [11 Odd Facts About Magic Mushrooms] 
   
   Still, there's absolutely no evidence to suggest microdosing works as people claim it does, Johnson said. The effects described are so subtle — on par with having the caffeine in a cup of coffee — that they "fall within that category of barely perceptible, and it's right in the range where people can so easily fool themselves," Johnson told Live Science. That means microdosing is particularly susceptible to the placebo effect, in which people taking a sugar pill who believe they're taking a drug report perceptible effects, he said. 
   
   To prove that microdosing has an effect, psychedelics researchers would need to do a double-blind study, in which neither the people administering the drug nor the recipients know whether a particular participant is getting a microdose of a psychedelic or something inert, like a little sugar dissolved in water, Johnson said. Some groups of people are allegedly doing these trials — but because LSD is illegal, and is only approved for research use in a few small trials in a few locations, all of these people are off the grid and not publicizing their efforts, Fadiman said. 
   
   Unknown side effects 
   
   What's more, microdosing could have side effects, Johnson said. The few microscopic grains of LSD — just 10 micrograms — typically used to microdose are too tiny to measure even on a professional laboratory scale, Johnson said. To get around this, people who microdose typically take a blotter paper laced with one hit of LSD, soak it in water and then drink some of the water. But since LSD is an illegal substance procured on the black market, there's really no way to know exactly what you're getting, Johnson said. 
   
   Even in the lab, with carefully measured doses of drugs administered in a controlled environment, Johnson has found substantial variation in the way that people react to the same dose. Combined, those two uncertainties mean people may not be able to reliably microdose, he said. 
   
   "Someone might be expecting a kind of sparkly day, just a really productive day at work — and next thing you know, they're grasping hold to their office chair wondering why the world is dissolving," Johnson said. 
   
   Schirp, for instance, has occasionally had negative microdosing experiences. 
   
   "At times, the experience was still too overwhelming to be productive — I just wanted to lay down or take a walk," Schirp said. 
   
   Beyond that possible experience, the long-term risks of the drug are unknown. The risk of taking a single, tiny dose of LSD or psilocybin is going to be smaller than the risk of taking one big hit, Johnson said. But even the most dedicated psychonauts don't typically trip daily or even weekly, Johnson said. By contrast, people who are microdosing report using the drugs every three or four days, he said. 
   
   Such frequent use could have unknown, long-term side effects, he said. 
   
   "You're tinkering with the system that is involved with depressive systems, but in unexplored ways," Johnson said. 
   
   Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct the spelling of Martijn Schirp's name. 
   
   Follow Tia Ghose on Twitterand Google+. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. ||||| Some researchers say outlawing drugs like marijuana and ecstasy hinders research into their medicinal properties. 
   
   Restricting the use of psychoactive drugs in research represents the most serious case of scientific censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus and Galileo, some scientists say. 
   
   In a paper published online today (June 12) in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience, a group of researchers argues that drug laws enacted in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s have hindered vital research into the drugs' functions and therapeutic uses. 
   
   The laws were designed to prevent drug use and drug harm, but they failed to do that, said paper co-author David Nutt, a psychopharmacologist at Imperial College, London. "The unintended consequence is they've really impeded research and development," Nutt told LiveScience. [Trippy Tales: The History of 8 Hallucinogens] 
   
   Nutt and his colleagues focused on three classes of drugs restricted by national laws and international conventions: cannabis (marijuana), MDMA (ecstasy) and psychedelics. Three United Nations treaties from 1961, 1971 and 1988 put a legal system in place for controlling the use of these psychoactive drugs, both for recreational or research purposes. 
   
   Prior to these restrictions, studies investigating these drugs had demonstrated important therapeutic uses, the authors argue. Marijuana has long been used medicinally and can be used to relieve pain and muscle spasms in people with AIDS and multiple sclerosis, for example. Ecstasy has been found to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder and help couples improve communication in their relationships. And LSD, or acid, has been used to treat alcoholism, Nutt said. 
   
   Aside from medicinal uses, Nutt and colleagues say psychedelic drugs can play a role in probing the nature of consciousness, because they induce changes in the conscious state. The drugs activate a receptor in the brain called 5HT-2A, which is most prevalent in the brain's outer layer, or cortex, in areas involved in sensation and emotion. 
   
   "We cannot understand the brain if we're not studying drugs," Nutt said. 
   
   The restrictions were designed to protect against the drugs' perceived dangers, but these dangers are overstated, and are often less severe than those from alcohol, Nutt and his colleagues write. The regulations make it almost impossible to conduct the research necessary to challenge these perceptions, Nutt said. 
   
   Because of the illegal status of these drugs, finding funding to study them can be very challenging. What's more, the drugs are not easy to obtain — standard chemical manufacturers don't produce them, and the cost for custom synthesis is prohibitively high. For example, the researchers, in their paper, cite a company in Boston that produces psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, at a cost of $12,000 per gram (0.04 oz). 
   
   Nutt is one of the few scientists doing research on these psychedelic drugs, and his findings have "opened up a whole new way of how the brain works," he said. 
   
   From a scientific standpoint, research on psychedelic drugs was deemed important before the drugs were banned in the early 1960s. Robert F. Kennedy once questioned the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), saying, "if [clinical LSD projects] were worthwhile six months ago, why aren't they worthwhile now?" Still, the bans went ahead. 
   
   The restrictions aren't absolute, however. Seventeen U.S. states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, and in Colorado and Washington, marijuana is now legal for personal use. Still, researchers face many hurdles in obtaining and working with marijuana and other drugs. 
   
   "It's time for scientists to stand up and change things," Nutt said. 
   
   Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitterand Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science. ||||| Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, is a stigmatized non-addictive psychedelic drug substance with "unfair" laws that prevent us from doing more research on potential health benefits, says a new YouTube video by PsychedSubstance. 
   
   Our country has been stalling research on the substance dating back to the 1960s, when it was outlawed. This was during a period where drug use rose among young, middle-class Americans. The link between crime and drug use became apparent, and a war on drugs ensued. But now a bit of research is finally beginning to surface, highlighting the drug’s benefits, such as treatment for anxiety, treatment for addiction, and an increase in creative thinking. With more research and, as the video states, “an open mind,” the substance can make a comeback to people across the world. 
   
   The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that more than 1.1 million people, aged 12 or older, have tried hallucinogens at least once in their lifetime. 
   
   The psychedelic drug was first synthesized and ingested by Albert Hoffman in 1938 from ergot, a grain fungus that grows on rye. LSD can also be synthesized from common garden flowers like Morning Glory and Hawaiian Baby Woodrose. The seeds contain over 10 different types of ergoline alkaloids, most notably ergine, which is also called LSA (d-lysergic acid amide). LSD works by mimicking serotonin in the brain, and takes priority over any bodily serotonin sending messages to the body. This process is why scientists believe that people see hallucinations when on the drug. 
   
   That being said, since LSD is non-toxic, no one has ever gotten close to the amount where the drug could be lethal. There are reports of people using over 400 doses of LSD and surviving. Aside from that, our bodies grow incredibly tolerant to the drug. According to the video, if you were to take the same dose of the drug three days in a row, the third day that dosage would have little to no effect. What makes LSD the most dangerous is by buying the substance on the street, where it has been mixed with other dangerous substances. Many famous people like Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, and Francis Crick, the man who discovered the DNA helix, credit their success to LSD. 
   
   "Something tells me there is a treasure trove of knowledge to be gained by this substance, but only time will tell," PsychedSubstance says in the video. ||||| Context: In his amazing book Zero to One: Notes on Startups, Peter Thiel mentions that he *always* asks this question in job interviews. 
   
   I think it’s a great question and am curious to hear anyone and everyone’s answers. : ]
target: – Some users of LSD like taking tiny amounts of the hallucinogenic drug—often by drinking acid-laced water—to experience subtle benefits like increased focus, creativity, or friendliness toward people, LiveScience reports. "It's like the coffee to wake up the mind-body connection," says former poker player Martijn Schirp, who now writes for HighExistence.com. "When I notice it is working, depending on the dosage, time seems to be slowing down a bit, everything seems covered with a layer of extra significance." Schirp says he embraced the practice, called "microdosing," because it gave him a chance "to get a taste of this without [the experience] completely overwhelming me." But any possible long-term risks are unknown because, as Medical Daily notes, LSD remains an illegal drug that's rarely tested. "The unintended consequence is they've really impeded research and development," a psychopharmacologist told LiveScience a couple of years ago. "We cannot understand the brain if we're not studying drugs." According to one psychologist, LSD does mimic antidepressants like Prozac by freeing up the brain's "feel-good" chemical, serotonin, so microdosing may work as advertised. It's been around for years, too: LSD inventor Albert Hofmann microdosed in his old age, and the practice is described in James Fadiman's 2011 book The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide. Yet even Schirp admits it's not always positive: "At times, the experience was still too overwhelming to be productive—I just wanted to lay down or take a walk," he says. (Recent studies on psychedelic drugs downplay the risk of psychosis and note possible anti-depressant effects.)