Alexander Shulgin, more popularly referred to as "Sasha" the "Godfather of Ecstasy" died on Monday at 88 years old, losing a long battle with liver cancer. He is the known inventor of a variety of psychedelic drugs, synthesizing more than 200 to date, with 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or "Ecstasy" being his most popular product. It was the pharmaceutical company Merck that patented it in 1912.
Shulgin tested this drug on himself and his wife in his Berkeley home laboratory, and it was their co-authorship to two self-published books, PiHKAL (Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved) and TiHKAL (Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved), that gave them the opportunity to discuss their experiences with his psychoactive drugs. They provided free access to the second part of these books, which also included an instructional manual on how to make the illicit drugs. This free-for-all online access later compelled US DEA officials to raid his home laboratory.
A study on Shulgin's drugs revealed that some of his drugs were found to have some medicinal effects. However, a large number of them were reported to have no other purpose, apart from recreational use. "Ecstasy" was studied more extensively and it was found out that this primarily recreational psychedelic drug had positive effects on traumatized people and terminal-stage cancer patients by easing their fears and reducing their anxiety.
Shortly after introducing "Ecstasy" to the public, it immediately broke into the mainstream and infiltrated the lifestyle of people in Chicago, New York, Ibiza, and eventually reached the shores of the United Kingdom.
"Go banging about with a psychedelic drug for a Saturday night turn-on, and you can get into a really bad place, psychologically." Shulgin wrote in his 1990 PiHKAL publication. "Know what you are using, decide just why you are using it, and you can have a rich experience."
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