glShemp
Active Member
Let's see if I can jump-start the new forum with an appreciation thread for the great Alexander (Sasha) Shulgin.
A PhD chemist of genius level ability, Shulgin had a talent for understanding organic molecules and envisioning how he could synthesize similar compounds in his laboratory that would do similar things. This led to the invention of the first bio-degradable pesticide back in the 50s which made a ton of money for his employer, Dow Chemical. Dow was so delighted that they gave their chemistry genius a lab and turned him loose to do whatever he wanted to do.
Now here's where it gets fun...
Turns out, what he wanted to do with his freedom and the resources Dow gave him was discover and investigate psychedelic drugs after being introduced to Mescaline back in the late 50s. So he put his intellect to work understanding the Mescaline molecule and discovering hundreds of new compounds which he tested on himself and an inner circle of trusted friends and later his wife, Ann. Sasha is a scientist and he was sincere in that he was investigating these new drugs for science to learn about them and document the effects of the drugs for the scientific literature. He wasn't just trying to get loaded. And, up until 1994, he had a DEA license so he was doing it legally.
This guy has tested psychedelic drugs on himself thousands of times, maybe tens of thousands of times, who knows, and he's not "nutty as a fruitcake" as Terrence McKenna pointed out. In fact, well into his 70s and 80s his mind is still sharp and full of good science and wit and humanity.
Here's a documentary about him called Dirty Pictures. The title refers to his drawings of molecules of psychedelic drugs which is what he calls them for some reason. If you prefer to download you can find the video on bittorent under the name "Ecstasy Bandits" One hour forty five minutes.
[video=youtube;IdXXes8mVxo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdXXes8mVxo[/video]
His Wikepedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Shulgin
Link to his book of designer drug recipes and trip reports (this is legal by the way) http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/pihkal/pihkal.shtml
His New York Times interview http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/magazine/30ECSTASY.html
A PhD chemist of genius level ability, Shulgin had a talent for understanding organic molecules and envisioning how he could synthesize similar compounds in his laboratory that would do similar things. This led to the invention of the first bio-degradable pesticide back in the 50s which made a ton of money for his employer, Dow Chemical. Dow was so delighted that they gave their chemistry genius a lab and turned him loose to do whatever he wanted to do.
Now here's where it gets fun...
Turns out, what he wanted to do with his freedom and the resources Dow gave him was discover and investigate psychedelic drugs after being introduced to Mescaline back in the late 50s. So he put his intellect to work understanding the Mescaline molecule and discovering hundreds of new compounds which he tested on himself and an inner circle of trusted friends and later his wife, Ann. Sasha is a scientist and he was sincere in that he was investigating these new drugs for science to learn about them and document the effects of the drugs for the scientific literature. He wasn't just trying to get loaded. And, up until 1994, he had a DEA license so he was doing it legally.
This guy has tested psychedelic drugs on himself thousands of times, maybe tens of thousands of times, who knows, and he's not "nutty as a fruitcake" as Terrence McKenna pointed out. In fact, well into his 70s and 80s his mind is still sharp and full of good science and wit and humanity.
Here's a documentary about him called Dirty Pictures. The title refers to his drawings of molecules of psychedelic drugs which is what he calls them for some reason. If you prefer to download you can find the video on bittorent under the name "Ecstasy Bandits" One hour forty five minutes.
[video=youtube;IdXXes8mVxo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdXXes8mVxo[/video]
His Wikepedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Shulgin
Link to his book of designer drug recipes and trip reports (this is legal by the way) http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/pihkal/pihkal.shtml
His New York Times interview http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/magazine/30ECSTASY.html
