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How 'micro-dosing' LSD helped a woman to 'improve her mental health and save her marriage'

Taking small amounts of illegal, psychedelic drugs is being hailed by some as a way to combat mental illness

Kashmira Gander

Friday 27 January 2017 12:26 GMT

(RapidEye/iStock)

Save for an underwhelming brush with magic mushrooms at university, US public prosecutor and writer Ayelet Waldman hasn’t touched recreational drugs. Now, aged 52, she has released a brave memoir of how she believes a small, cobalt blue bottle of LSD helped her regain control over her mental health and mend her marriage.

Waldman’s book, A Really Good Day, is the latest account by advocates of so-called micro-dosing, and how taking small amounts of psychedelics including LSD and psilocybin mushrooms have transformed their health.

A Reddit forum dedicated to microdosing has more than 11,000 subscribers, and several influential podcasts such as Reply All have discussed the apparent merits of the practice.

Microdosing involves self-medicating with “sub-perceptual” levels of hallucinogenic drugs, at a tenth of what is used recreationally. Hits are administered once every four days.

Devotees claim that their anxiety, depression and migraines have improved, and they have enjoyed boosts in sex drive and creativity. But scientific studies are yet to robustly support these assertions.

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Show all 10

1/10World's 10 deadliest street drugs

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Whoonga

Whoonga is a combination of antiretroviral drugs, used to treat HIV, and various cutting agents such as detergents and poisons. The drug is widely available in South Africa due to South Africa’s high rate of HIV sufferers, and is believed to be popular due to how cheap it is when compared to prescribed antiretrovirals. The drug is highly addictive and can cause major health issues such as internal bleeding, stomach ulcers and ultimately death

Getty

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Scopolamine

Scopolamine is a derivative from the nightshade plant found in the Northern Indian region of South America (Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela). It is generally found in a refined powder form, but can also be found as a tea. The drug is more often used by criminals due its high toxicity level (one gram is believed to be able to kill up to 20 people) making it a strong poison. However, it is also believed that the drug is blown into the faces of unexpecting victims, later causing them to lose all sense of self-control and becoming incapable of forming memories during the time they are under the influence of the drug. This tactic has reportedly been used by gangs in Colombia where there have been reports of people using scopolamine as way to convince victims to rob their own homes

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Heroin

Founded in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright, heroin is one of the world’s oldest drugs. Originally it was prescribed as a strong painkiller used to treat chronic pain and physical trauma. However in 1971 it was made illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Since then it has become one of the most destructive substances in the world, tearing apart communities and destroying families. The side effects of heroin include inflammation of the gums, cold sweats, a weak immune system, muscular weakness and insomnia. It can also damage blood vessels which can later cause gangrene if left untreated

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Crack cocaine

Crack cocaine first came about in the 1980’s when cocaine became a widespread commodity within the drug trafficking world. Originally cocaine would have attracted a high price tag due to its rarity and difficulty to produce, but once it became more widespread the price dropped significantly. This resulted in drug dealers forming their cocaine into rock like shapes by using baking soda as a way of distilling the powder down into rock form. People were doing this because it allowed for them to sell cocaine at a lower quantity and to a higher number of people. The side effects of crack cocaine include liver, kidney and lung damage, as well as permanent damage to blood vessels, which can often lead to heart attacks, strokes, and ultimately death

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Crystal meth

Not just famous because of a certain Walter H White, but also because it is one of the most destructive drugs in the world. First developed in 1887, it became widely used during the Second World War when both sides would give it to their troops to keep them awake. It is also believed that the Japanese gave it to their Kamikaze pilots before their suicide missions. After the war crystal meth was prescribed as a diet aid and remained legal until the 1970s. Since then it has fallen into the hands of Mexican gangs and has become a worldwide phenomenon, spreading throughout Europe and Asia. The effects of crystal meth are devastating. In the short-term users will become sleep depraved and anxious, and in the long-term it will cause their flesh to sink, as well as brain damage and damage of the blood vessels

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

AH-7921

AH-7921 is a synthetic opioid that was previously available to legally purchase online from vendors until it became a Class A in January 2015. The drug is believed to have 80% of the potency of morphine, and became known as the ‘legal heroin’. While there has only been one death related to AH-7921 in the UK, it is believed to be highly dangerous and capable of causing respiratory arrest and gangrene

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Flakka

Flakka is a stimulant with a similar chemical make-up to the amphetamine-like drug found in bath salts. While the drug was originally marketed as a legal high alternative to ecstasy, the effects are significantly different. The user will feel an elevated heart rate, enhanced emotions, and, if enough is digested, strong hallucinations. The drug can cause permanent psychological damage due to it affecting the mood regulating neurons that keep the mind’s serotonin and dopamine in check, as well as possibly causing heart failure

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Bath salts

Bath salts are a synthetic crystalline drug that is prevalent in the US. While they may sound harmless, they certainly aren’t the sort of salts you drop into a warm bath when having a relaxing night in, they are most similar to mephedrone, and have recently been featured throughout social media due to the ‘zombification’ of its. The name comes from the fact that the drug was originally sold online, and widely disguised as bath salts. The side effects include unusual psychiatric behaviour, psychosis, panic attacks and violent behaviour, as well as the possibility of a heart attack and an elevated body temperature

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Purple Drank

One of the more unusual drugs around at the moment, purple drank was popularised in 90s hip hop culture, with the likes of Jay Z and Big Moe all mentioning it in their songs. It is a concoction of soda water, sweets and cold medicine, and is drunk due to cold medicines high codeine content, which gives the user a woozy feeling. However it can also cause respiratory issues and heart failure

World's 10 deadliest street drugs

Krokodil

Krokodil is Russia’s secret addiction. It is believed that over one million Russians are addicted to the drug. Users of krokodil are attracted to the drug due to its low price; it is sold at £20 a gram while heroin is sold for £60. However, krokodil is considered more dangerous than heroin because it is often homemade, with ingredients including painkillers, iodine, lighter fluid and industrial cleaning agents. This chemical make-up makes the drug highly dangerous and likely to cause gangrene, and eventually rotting of the flesh

Waldman has described how her depression and bi-polar symptoms melted away, similarly to the effects of pharmaceutical stimulants but without the apparent side effects of anxiety.

However, micro-dosing with an illegal, unregulated drug is of course fraught with risks. In the US, those found in possession of acid can be hit with up to three years in jail and fined between $1,000 to $25,000. LSD is a class A drug in the UK, along with cocaine and heroin, and possession is punishable with up to seven years in prison. Those who take LSD can also risk experience unpleasant trips, with flashbacks which can sometimes last for years. Those who microdose incorrectly risk having unwanted, full-blown trips.

Waldman considered microdosing after she said that attempts to treat her symptoms of depression, bipolar and premenstrual dysphoric disorder conventional failed.

Saving her from seeking out a dealer, an elderly acquaintance who no longer needed his LSD donated it to her in a brown envelope signed “Lewis Carroll”, the author of Alice in Wonderland. Inside was the blue bottle, filled with a month’s supply of acid.

But how can Waldman be sure that it wasn’t simply a placebo affect?

Ayelet Waldman took LSD to help ease her mental anguish (Claire Lewis)

“It's certainly possible. There's no way to know for sure without further research. If it was, however, it was definitely the mother of all placebo effects,” she tells The Independent.

Since the book has been released, she says many people have approached her who are in pain, and in desperate for relief from their depression.

“My heart aches for them. The current state of mental health treatment has failed them so completely. We desperately need more research into alternatives, including LSD and other psychedelics," she argues.

Her story in itself may offer comfort to those on the edge. "As a person with a mental illness, I have been so inspired by others, like [Star Wars actor] Carrie Fisher, who have shared their stories openly and honestly. There is tremendous comfort in finding out that you're not alone.”

Waldman has always been in favour of drug policy reform: “the drug war because it has ... caused the death of so many millions, cost so many trillions, and enriched the worst of criminals.”

Now, she is adamant that further research must be done into how psychedelics could be used in a measured and regulated way. Researchers in the US are currently investigating how mushrooms can help mood disorders in cancer patients, while MDMA is being assessed as a treatment for PTSD.

But she fears that the window of progression may have been short-lived.

“I had high hopes for this, or at least hopes that the research would continue and science would prevail. Then the United States elected Donald Trump, who appointed a retrograde, racist drug-warrior as attorney general. Now I just hope I can stay out of jail.”

Yet, Waldman remains cautious about the realities of drugs that can be unpredictable. "I'm interested nowadays in the potential for a guided psychedelic trip in alleviating depression. But I would never do that without the aid of a researcher, about two dozen therapists, and an entire team of medical professionals standing by with syringes full of valium in case things went south. I'm a neurotic, after all, and still terrified of a 'bad trip'.”

Since the bottle ran out, Waldman says she hasn’t reached out for another supply, and she believes her mental health has suffered for it.

“Maintaining my equilibrium is a constant struggle. I get therapy, I use mindfulness tools, I exercise and am careful about my sleep. I continue to use the hormone patch despite its dangers. I am hopeful that when I enter menopause my mood swings will abate.”

“I can't use it because it is illegal and I am afraid of being prosecuted. I wish I could.”

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