Shulgin, Alexander T. (Sasha), is a world-famous biochemist and pharmacologist who produced over 500 psychoactive compounds.[1] He is known as "the Godfather of MDMA" after rediscovering it in the mid 1960's and introducing it to the psychology community as a therapeutic tool. Perhaps he is even better known for his research into substituted phenethylamines and tryptamines which are documented in his most famous books PiHKAL; A Chemical Love Story and TiHKAL; The Continuation. These two books have helped to create an interest in research chemicals and a community around them. Shulgin also discovered and synthesized the 2C-x Chemical Family, MDxx Chemical Family, and the DOx Chemical Family.
Life and Career
Early Years
Sasha was born in Berkeley, California on 17 June 1925 and first began his study of organic chemistry at Harvard University.Education
Shulgin began studying organic chemistry as a Harvard University scholarship student at the age of 16. In 1943, he dropped out of school to join the U.S., where he would eventually become interested in psychopharmacology after experiencing a placebo effect from a glass of orange juice he believed contained a narcotic. After serving in the Navy (a veteran of World War II), he returned to Berkeley, California, and in 1954 earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Through the late 1950s, Shulgin completed post-doctoral work in the fields of psychiatry and pharmacology at University of California, San Francisco. In late 1966, he spent two years studying neurology at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.Recent Times
At 5:00 pm on June 2, 2014, Dr. Alexander T. Shulgin succumbed to liver cancer. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. For more information please see ASRI’s obituary for Sasha.
Books
PiHKal (phenethylamines)
TiHkal (tryptamines)