Everybody’s everything: microdosing, policy, and the ethical self

Microdosing, a practice that involves the ingestion of sub-hallucinogenic amounts of psychedelic substances, has aroused significant popular and scholarly attention in recent years. While early microdosing research reported overwhelmingly positive results, more recent clinical trials indicate any benefits obtained may be due to a placebo effect, or that microdosing does not offer benefits over those provided by other self-care practices. This thesis explores why microdosing is perceived to offer benefits, with the first integrated mixed-methods account of microdosing. The thesis adopts a methodological framework derived from Michel Foucault’s ‘ethics of the self’ to guide inquiry into the way microdosing is understood, with particular focus on the ethical framing of this practice. Semi-structured interviews with 10 participants informed the development of survey questions that were included in the 2021 Global Drug Survey. Quantitative data collected from over 33,220 respondents assessed prevalence of microdosing in the last 12 months (n = 1,379) and prescription medication use for mental health (n = 267). Comparative analysis of survey respondents’ microdosing practices and behaviours involved logistic regression models and, drawing on Foucault’s metaethical framework, the quantitative findings were synthesised with insights identified in the qualitative interviews. Key findings include identification of the heterogeneity amongst the subpopulations of people who microdose, with a lack of association between benefits being experienced and individual microdosing practice. This thesis found that participants report microdosing provides them significant treatment and enhancement benefits, the likes of which are not clinically measurable but are instead a result of engaging in a practice that aligns with an individual ethical code and undertaking practices of the self. Implications for public health and drug policy include broadening the way policymakers understand treatment efficacy in relation to mental health, and how this understanding should shape medicine scheduling decisions.