Integrating microdosing in our social lives

Understanding psychedelics requires understanding the full spectrum. This event will be focusing on the discussion around implementing psychedelics into our everyday lifestyles, with a focus on our social lives.

We’ve been through a lot as a society. The pandemic changed a lot and showed us how strong we can be when we work together. But there’s one area where we need to work together even more: our mental health.

Especially for people who experience social anxiety, we know how important it is to have a support system around us. We know how hard it can be to get out there and engage with others when you’re feeling anxious or depressed. And if you’re like many people today, you may struggle with social anxiety without knowing it.

This panel discussion will include talks from all areas of the psychedelic spectrum. From microdosing to macrodosing, and the in-between space, we’ll talk about how microdosing can help people overcome their anxiety around social interactions, how it’s brought people closer and evokes empathy, and what the future of microdosing could look like. How could we use these tools responsibly and effectively?

There will be speaker presentations from:

Ben Rein, PH.D. Ben is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Robert Malenka’s lab at Stanford University and a science communicator on social media. In his current research with MDMA, Ben is exploring the neural basis of empathy and mechanisms by which empathic behaviours can be enhanced. He received his PhD in neuroscience from SUNY Buffalo, earning the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research. Ben’s thesis research focused on autism spectrum disorder and identified key systems in the brain that regulate social behaviour. Outside of the lab, Ben creates educational science videos for an audience of more than 900,000 followers on TikTok, Instagram and BiliBili. In his videos, he summarizes recent research papers, teaches fundamental science principles, and debunks “viral” videos containing scientific misinformation. Ben’s science communication has been recognized with awards from Stanford University, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) the Mind Science Foundation, and Vlogbrothers.

Josi Marschall, PH.D. Josi obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Leiden University (2018), and a Research Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Amsterdam (2020), with a major in Clinical Psychology and a minor in Brain and Cognition. She has worked as an intern and research assistant at Leiden University (2017-2019), University of Amsterdam (2019), and Stichting 1nP (2021), on projects investigating psychedelic substances, religion/spirituality, and meditation. Currently, Josi is a PhD candidate at the unit of Cognitive Psychology of the Institute of Psychology, under the supervision of Dr. Michiel van Elk. Next to this, she serves as a board member for the Amsterdam Psychedelic Research Association and works as a psychologist at Stichting 1nP. She’s strongly interested in the mechanisms and effects of psychedelic substances and associated experiences, including psychedelic-induced changes in self perception, suggestibility, beliefs, and emotion processing.

After the presentations, there will be a panel discussion hosted by:

Sara Budhwani, creator of Happy Tea (microdosetogether.com) Sara is a microdosing advocate focusing on educating people about the benefits of microdosing socially. Her personal microdosing story involves giving up alcohol and microdosing instead, however the experience was very alienating as the concept still had stigmas. She started to experiment with different tea blends to make microdosing a slower and more familiar experience. These low dose microdosing drinks became a hit and quickly grew. She saw the potential microdosing has on our social lives, and is helping people across Europe reduce their alcohol intake by drinking Happy Tea. Sara is most familiar with moderate dosing of psilocybin, and will be discussing more about this area of the spectrum of dosing psychedelics.

After the discussions, there will be 40-50 minutes of networking and mingling with some tea. There will not be any alcohol available at this event. There will also be fruit available.

We hope to see you there! Virtual tickets are available if you cannot attend in person.

Purchase tickets here (prices are in CAD): https://x.microdose.buzz/event/integrating-microdosing-in-our-social-lives/