The article, “Everything You Wanted To Know About Microdosing (But Were Afraid To Ask)” written by Carolyn Gregoire, states the idea of microdosing and includes an interview with Dr. James Fadiman, a professional researcher on the subject. Microdosing is when an individual takes roughly one-tenth of a normal dose of either lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or psilocybin on a regular schedule to rebalance people (Gregoire, 2017). A close analysis of the articles shows that Gregoire incorporates a number of rhetorical elements to deliver the article’s main idea of addressing general ideas and questions that the public may have about microdosing. 

The purpose of the article is to establish an understanding among the readers about microdosing through an interview with a professional from a credible magazine. It is obvious from the title what the purpose is because the article looks to answer the general questions about microdosing. Gregoire wants to inform the audience about microdosing since it is a recent trend that is apparent in Silicon Valley, but wants readers to understand that microdosing was always something that has always been around. The article starts off by stating, “long before microdosing was being touted as the Silicon Valley life hack du jour, Dr. Fadiman was investigating the potential mind-enhancing effects of ingesting psychedelic drugs” (Gregoire, 2017).  This proves that there is a microdosing trend in Silicon Valley that was exposed recently and that Dr. Fadiman continues to study the effects of psychedelics. The article is effective when delivering the purpose because the author is able to inform the readers about the basics of microdosing as well as provide an interview with a credible professor who has been studying the effects of psychedelics for a long time. 

Gregoire has a supportive stance on microdosing since she included an interview with a professional in the field, and she does not write any of the negative consequences or worries that one may have about microdosing. The author mentions that microdosing is a territory of science that has not been explored in depth; Dr. Fadiman explains the reasons behind the mysteries of it through the interview. The reasons being that nobody was interested in microdosing until recently, and that it is difficult to receive approval for observational research from the Institutional Review Board (Gregoire, 2017). The fact that she only mentions the positives and defends the minimal knowledge on the topic throughout the article hints that she supports microdosing. 

The huffpost website is the medium used to share the article to the audience. Reading the article on a website is convenient for those on the run or for anyone that has access to the internet. The platform of the article makes it convenient for anyone around the world to read the document whenever and wherever. 

Furthermore, Gregoire arranges the article so that the readers can easily tell when the interviewer (Gregoire) and interviewee (Dr. Fadiman) are speaking. She gives the background on psychedelics in paragraph form at the beginning with an image. Then, she moves onto introducing the interview section of the article by bolding her questions and starting a new paragraph every time with Dr. Fadiman’s response. By arranging the article this way, the readers are able to distinguish the difference between the question and response with ease.

The audience of the article is anyone who has an interest or curiosity in microdosing. Specifically, the author targets young people who are looking to try something new due to the recent news that the media spread about the Silicon Valley engineers who microdose. The middle-aged working class, in their 40s or 50s started to microdose in the last couple years to enhance their cognitive skills, strengthen their focus, or spark creativity for career purposes. Hence, it could also include those who want to experience the benefits of microdosing in their established careers. Additionally, it could be those who want to get help with their anxiety, people whose medication gives them complications, and people who want to rebalance themselves. Essentially, the audience of this piece is anyone who wants to try something new or read about a trend that the mainstream media describes.

The genre of the piece is informative since the author aims for readers to understand what microdosing is and learn about it from a professional regarding the topic. Gregoire does not use any scientific words because she wants to inform the general public about what microdosing is and is not delivering a scientific experiment, which often includes scientific diction.

Using specific language in the article associates microdosing psychedelics with something that is medical rather than for recreational use. When writing the word “drugs,” there are often negative connotations associated with the word. Gregoire refrains from using these words to avoid the misconception that all uses of drugs are “bad.” She wants readers to understand that microdosing is when an individual takes such a small dose that they are below the perpetual threshold (Gregoire, 2017).  Furthermore, Gregoire establishes a tone in the article that is formal since she does not use the word, “I” but establishes a friendly and inviting tone to encourage readers to continue reading the piece.

Gregoire uses logos when structuring the writing by constructing the article in a chronological way. This can be proven because she explains what microdosing exactly is and proceeds to include the additional information the interview offered. The ethos, or credibility of both the author and Dr. Fadiman can be proven because she is the writer of a credible news source, huffpost, and Dr. Fadiman “authored ‘The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide,’ a how-to manual for safe and therapeutic psychedelic drug experiences” (Gregoire, 2017). This shows that he has enough information on the topic to publish a book on microdosing. She further establishes Dr. Fadiman when she states that he is involved in a research study on microdosing in both Australia and Europe (Gregoire, 2017). Again, this conveys that he is an active professional in the field. Lastly, the use of pathos can be seen when Gregoire includes a picture of Dr. Fadiman and when he brings up personal cases from his experiences in the interview. By including a picture of Dr. Fadiman, readers are able to empathize with the professional’s opinion since readers can see what the professional actually looks like and are more likely to trust his opinion. Moreover, when Dr. Fadiman explains that “the general response is that they feel better” after microdosing, the writer can appeal to the emotions of a reader to make them wonder if microdosing will make themselves feel better. 

The uses of the rhetorical elements that include purpose, stance, medium, arrangement, audience, genre, and language helps Gregoire establish the rhetorical situation of the article to make it easier for readers to understand the main points of the article. The main point being to inform the public about microdosing from a credible resource. The only setback for the article is that they do not address some of the issues or worries that the public may have about microdosing. The article should have refuted claims that deal with the negative consequences of microdosing to further support their main idea that microdosing should be used to rebalance the human body.

Works Cited

Gregoire, C. (2017, January 24). Everything You Wanted To Know About Microdosing. 

Retrieved February 19, 2020, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/psychedelic-microdosing-research_n_569525afe4b09dbb4bac9db8