🫠 Ask a Guide Anything

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We're the psychedelics newsletter that's fun-sized. If you’re still hungry, binge our back catalog. 🍬

Riddle us this.

If everyone’s sensitivity to psilocybin is different, and you’ve never tried mushrooms before, how are you supposed to know how much to take?

Ah, the classic chicken-or-egg problem. (F*** it. From now on, we’re calling it the fruiting-body-or-spore problem.)

So for today’s newsletter, we asked our network of licensed psilocybin facilitators: With no prior experience to go on, how do I figure out the right dose for me?

Here’s what they suggested.

MDMA opens the heart. You know what else it opens?

A can of whoop ass on your serotonin system. Unless you supplement appropriately, of course.

Afterglow is a science-backed, 4-step recovery protocol designed to be taken before, during, and after an MDMA session, so you can feel like a human and keep pace with life in the days that follow.

Their formula is built to Europe’s strict supplement standards, and all the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids in their stack are transparently disclosed.

Works just as well for festivals as therapy, btw.

You may not have a benchmark, but you still have your reasoning. Kate Schroeder starts from first principles: “For a first experience, I think the better question is less, ‘How much should I take?’ and more, ‘What level of experience am I actually prepared and supported to have?’”

Now, answering that question takes some digging, so Denise Vargas runs a full workup. She combs through each client’s “medications, substance use, and any history of nausea, fainting, anxiety, or blood-pressure concerns” before she picks the amount.

Women have another layer to think through. Karin Calde adds it to the list: “For people with female bodies, I consider where you are in your cycle and whether you're taking hormones, something that's often missed.”

Dose effects don’t fall on a smooth spectrum. In other words, a smaller dose is a different experience altogether from a larger dose. At the low end, Masha Steiner-Renoir says, you stay aware of yourself and your surroundings. Go bigger for “more ego relaxation or even dissolution, which can allow you to surrender more fully to the experience.”

Still, many people want to ease in first. Monica Ramunda sees the appeal (but also the catch): “Some people choose to begin with microdosing to develop a gentle relationship with the mushrooms, although a microdose cannot fully predict how a larger dose will feel.”

For a concrete number, Benjamin Dancer offers the default: “25 mg of psilocybin is the standard dose in most studies, so that’s a solid reference point while considering your intention, your history and the meds you’re on.”

The good news is, titration is a thing. Char McKendrick likes that optionality: “I recommend including a booster dose in every client's dosing plan. This gives us flexibility to begin at an appropriate starting point, then check in around an hour later and decide whether you'd like to deepen the experience.”

Having that wiggle room is helpful because the same amount can come on gently or hit like a truck. Karin says it depends on how regulated you are: “I pay particular attention to the state of your nervous system, since a dose that feels deeply therapeutic for one person may feel overwhelming to someone whose system is already highly activated.”

Whatever you go with, you’ll have to ride it out. As Kate points out, “you cannot untake a dose once you’ve taken it.” In that way, dosing is kinda like getting a haircut. There’s no shame in being cautious.

Althea’s Pick is our group psilocybin experience with a licensed facilitator. For a limited time, you can bring a friend or partner and you’ll each save $200. That’s $550 per person for a legal journey with prep and integration support.

Let’s make this real and get into some numbers, shall we?

If we’re talkin' dry weight of mushrooms, here are some loose guidelines:

0-300 mg is a microdose. (You might feel it, but you shouldn’t be functionally impaired.)

500 mg to 1.5 g is a medium or “museum” dose. (This range is also nice for getting out into nature. Hikrodose, anyone?)

2-3.5 g is a standard journey dose. (This is where most therapeutic sessions happen.)

And 5 g and beyond is the classic “heroic” dose. (Not for the faint of heart. Ego dissolution is likely.)

Now, there’s a big caveat to all of this. And that’s that mushroom potency is all over the place.

A 2026 analysis of 14 cubensis strains found total tryptamine content ranged nearly 8-fold, and even mushrooms from the same strain, grown side by side, varied in strength by as much as 23%. 

That’s why regulated programs don't dose in grams. They measure the active compounds (psilocybin and psilocin) in milligrams. 

That way, 25 mg = 25 mg, every time. Ahh, the McDonald's fries of psychedelics.

But testing isn’t available to everyone. So when in doubt, round down.

Thanks to Clay I. from Boulder, CO for submitting this week’s question. 🫠

Reply to this email to shoot your shot. If it’s a juicy one, we may select it for a future issue.

That’s all for today, Cyclists! Whenever you’re ready, here’s how we can help.

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here.

DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. The use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic drugs are illegal in most countries and may result in criminal prosecution.