A new national survey from the University of California San Diego has uncovered a surprising trend in American drug habits: when it comes to taking very small amounts of psychoactive substances, cannabis is far ahead of psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD or MDMA. The findings, published on May 4, 2026 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, suggest that millions of Americans are quietly turning to low-dose marijuana for both medical relief and a milder buzz.
The researchers estimate that roughly 24 million US adults — about 9.4% of the adult population — have microdosed cannabis at least once in their lives. By comparison, only 5.3% reported microdosing psilocybin, 4.8% LSD and 2.2% MDMA. In other words, cannabis microdosing is nearly twice as common as the practice with so-called classic psychedelics.
The pattern holds for ongoing use as well. About 3.3% of adults said they currently microdose cannabis, compared with 1.0% for psilocybin, 0.6% for LSD and 0.3% for MDMA. The team analyzed responses from a nationally representative sample of 1,525 adults surveyed through the Ipsos KnowledgePanel in late 2023. The numbers add to a growing body of research mapping how Americans actually use cannabis, including recent work on cannabis and nicotine co-use trends that points to increasingly complex consumption habits.
Lead author Kevin Yang, a resident physician in psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said the scale of cannabis microdosing was the biggest surprise of the study. According to Yang, public conversations about microdosing tend to focus on psychedelics, leaving out a large group of people who use small amounts of marijuana in much the same way.
The motivations also differed by substance. Cannabis was most often microdosed for medical reasons, including managing anxiety, depression and chronic pain. Psilocybin, LSD and MDMA, on the other hand, were more commonly used in low doses for recreational purposes, such as chasing a softer, less intense high.
Senior author Eric Leas, an assistant professor at the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, noted that this clashes with the popular image of microdosing as a strict wellness protocol. Many users, he explained, simply want to consume less so they don’t get as high — closer to “lowering the dose” than following a structured regimen.
Microdosing is typically defined as taking about one-fifth to one-twentieth of a regular recreational dose. The goal is to skip the strong psychoactive effects while possibly getting subtler benefits, such as a better mood, lower anxiety or a creative boost.
The study also revealed a clear link with mental health. Across all substances, people who rated their mental health as poor were more likely to microdose. Among adults who described their mental health as “poor,” about 21% had microdosed cannabis, compared with roughly 8% of those who said their mental health was “excellent.” Microdosing of psilocybin and LSD was also more common in states and cities that have decriminalized psychedelics, suggesting that local laws shape both access and willingness to admit use.
The authors caution, however, that scientific evidence on microdosing remains thin. Few placebo-controlled trials have been done, results so far are mixed, and unregulated products carry real risks — from inconsistent doses to contamination, especially since most users do not test what they consume. The study is also cross-sectional, so it cannot show whether microdosing improves mental health or whether struggling people are simply more likely to try it. Researchers and clinicians are increasingly looking at digital tools to help users monitor and moderate their intake, including smartphone-based interventions for cannabis and alcohol use that could complement future microdosing guidance.
As cannabis legalization spreads and psychedelic policy reforms move forward across the United States, the UCSD team argues that tracking microdosing trends will become a growing priority for public health. Larger longitudinal studies and clinical trials, they say, are needed to clarify who actually benefits, who might be harmed, and how clinicians should advise patients.
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