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Ann & Sasha: Alexander T. (Sasha) Shulgin has been called "The Ultimate Drug Designer." He has invented almost two hundred psychedelic substances. He rediscovered MDMA (aka Ecstasy) in the mid 1970s, and did the first human trials of it. On himself.
Sasha launched MDMA into the Bay Area's therapeutic community. Nearly 4000 therapists were utilizing this substance before it was banned. Ann, a therapist and writer, quickly became his staunchest advocate. This was long before anyone ever had gone to a rave. Working within the system as well as above it, Sasha Shulgin became an underground legend. He calls himself a "manic libertarian psychedelic chemist." He began his career at Dow Chemical in the 1950s: in 1963 he took mescaline and never looked back. The Shulgin's book PIHKAL: A Chemical Love Story ("Phenylethylamines I Have Known and Loved") is a fictionalized account of their careers with reviews of 179 substances that was published in 1991. As well as describing the compounds, their books deal explicitly with their love affair, past and present. Sasha specializes in creating drugs chemically related to mescaline and MDMA. He tries all his new compounds first on himself, very carefully. Then, if there's any reason to be optimistic, he tries them with Ann-- even more carefully. A small group of like-minded friends comprises their research group. Sasha has invented a lot of psychedelic drugs in this way, over the years.
As teachers, authors, expert witnesses, and outspoken proponents of legalization, the Shulgins had many friends in the law-enforcement community; and Sasha long held a license to analyze scheduled compounds. A 1994 visit by the Drug Enforcement Administration and local Environmental Protection Agency brought an end to that era, although the Shulgins have continued to write about their discoveries. Their second book, TIKHAL ("Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved") was published in 1997. They are currently writing the third installment, about cacti. "Ann & Sasha: A Chemical Love Story," the documentary film project, has gone underground and is mutating. Watch This Space for it's Phoenix-like re-Emergence in the Very Near Future!
PIKHAL on Erowid: TIKHAL at the Lycaeum: Sasha's article: The Illegal Search for Self Awareness: Ann's article: A New Class of Criminals L.A. Times: Wired: Ask Dr. Shulgin:
"Sasha Shulgin is a
world-class medicinal chemist interested in consciousness and psychotherapy.
In another era, he would have been given a senior tenured professorship
at a major university; but in our era he sacrificed his place in
the academic establishment for the freedom to conduct controversial
and pioneering research. He has synthesized and tested more novel
psychoactive molecules than anyone else on the planet. Among his
most important contributions was introducing MDMA into the underground
psychedelic psychotherapy movement. His courage, compassion and
brilliance in chemistry are testimony to the ennobling potential
of psychedelic drugs used wisely and with integrity." "Sasha Shulgin has contributed significantly
to our understanding of the interactions between chemicals and human
consciousness. He is also an unswerving advocate of individual rights
and personal freedom. "There is a wealth of information built
into us ... tucked away in the genetic material in every one of
our cells ... without some means of access, there is no way even
to begin to guess at the extent and quality of what is there. The
psychedelic drugs exploration of this interior world, and insights
into its nature. The government and the Church decided that psychedelic
drugs were dangerous to society and with the help of the press,
it was made clear that this was the way to social chaos and spiritual
disaster. What was unstated, of course, was the oldest rule of all:
Thou shalt not oppose nor embarrass those in power without being
punished."
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© Conceptafilm 2003
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