(Micro)“psychedelic” experiences: From workplace creativity in the 1960s to twenty-first-century neuro-newspeak

Since the 1990s, the reassessment of hallucinogens—or psychedelics—as a class of substance has led to research hypotheses on the utility of “microdoses” of these drugs for an enhanced functioning and well-being in everyday life. While in management research these are said to contribute to the understanding of how “creativity” is “enhanced,” such uses have also drawn criticism. Based on a documentary corpus and interviews, this article focuses on how the idea of “enhancement,” as related to psychedelics, emerged in 1960s California, and on how adepts of “microdosing” and psychopharmacologists grasp this idea today.