Silicon Valley CEO reportedly fired for microdosing LSD
Microdosing is common practice in Silicon Valley
The CEO of Iterable, the $2 billion email marketing startup, has claimed that he was fired after using LSD during work hours.
Justin Zhu claimed that he was let go after microdosing LSD in order to improve his focus before a meeting in 2019.
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According to Bloomberg, co-founder Andrew Boni announced Zhu’s firing over email last month for violating “Iterable’s Employee Handbook, policies and values.”
Zhu's “behavior also undermined the board’s confidence in Justin’s ability to lead the company going forward,” Boni also wrote before saying that Zhu was a “world-class innovator and creative thinker” and that these attributes would "remain a core part of our culture.”
Microdosing, the act of taking small amounts of psychedelics with the intention of improving focus or heightening creativity, has grown increasingly popular amongst Silicon Valley employees, as well as elsewhere.
A study from 2019 found that microdosing can have positive psychological effects. Scientists tested 98 people for six weeks, finding that levels of creativity and connectedness increased alongside other factors.
Tope Olufemi is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow them on Twitter
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