Alexander Shulgin

Alexander Shulgin‏‎ (June 17, 1925 – June 2, 2014) was an American medicinal chemist, biochemist, pharmacologist, psychopharmacologist, and author. He is best known for introducing MDMA ("ecstasy") to the scientific and medical community, and for his research on the use of psychedelic drugs for therapeutic purposes.

Early life and education

Shulgin was born in Berkeley, California, to Russian and American parents. He developed an interest in chemistry at a young age, and by the time he was in high school, he had already set up a basic chemistry lab in his basement.

He attended Harvard University for two years before dropping out to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he returned to school and earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1954.

Career

Shulgin began his career as a research chemist at Dow Chemical Company, where he invented a profitable insecticide. However, his interest in psychoactive substances led him to leave Dow and set up his own lab, where he synthesized and tested hundreds of potential psychedelic drugs.

In the 1970s, Shulgin came across MDMA, a drug that had been synthesized and patented but not marketed by Merck in the 1910s. He recognized its potential therapeutic value and introduced it to psychologists, who began using it as an aid in psychotherapy.

Shulgin's work attracted the attention of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which granted him a license to produce and possess scheduled substances. However, his relationship with the DEA deteriorated in the 1990s, and his license was eventually revoked.

Legacy

Despite the controversy surrounding his work, Shulgin's contributions to the field of psychopharmacology are widely recognized. He authored several books, including PiHKAL and TiHKAL, which detail his experiences with psychedelic substances and have become seminal texts in the field.

Shulgin's work has also influenced the psychedelic therapy movement, which advocates for the use of psychedelic drugs in therapeutic settings.

Death

Shulgin died on June 2, 2014, at the age of 88. His death was attributed to liver cancer.

See also

• History of lysergic acid diethylamide
• Psychedelic drug
• Psychedelic therapy

References

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