Dr. Alok Kanojia (Dr. K)

So we can't say it is safe or unsafe or effective or ineffective unless we actually specify those things, okay?

That's the first problem.

So second thing is that in my experience of microdosing, in the sense of the people that I've worked with, what I tend to find is that microdosing gives a lot of subjective benefit.

So when people microdose, they feel a lot better.

They feel like it has a very large impact.

But that is generally speaking, I think, kind of sus, TBH.

And the reason for that is because a subjective experience of feeling better does not necessarily tightly correlate with an actual clinical improvement.

And the best example of this is something like Adderall or stimulant medication.

So if you take someone with ADHD and you give them Adderall, what many of them experience is that they are non-functional without Adderall.

Without my Adderall, I can't do anything.

And with my Adderall, I become a completely different human being and I can accomplish a lot.

So the subjective benefit of Adderall seems to be very high for people.

But if you look at studies, how much does Adderall improve your actual concentration?

On average, if you do meta-analyses of studies, it leads to a 30% improvement in ADHD symptoms.

Compare that.

with psychotherapy.

So psychotherapy over the course of one year, if you really stick with it, improves ADHD symptoms by about 69%, right?

So it is more than twice as effective as stimulant medication.

But if you ask someone, how much does psychotherapy help you?

How much does Adderall help you?