Ecstasy Resource Books, where to get them

As in the subject, I'm after a couple of ecstasy books, namely shulgins Pihkal and saunders Ecstasy Reconsidered, but i'm not sure where to look for them in Australia (or more specifically Sydney) I know that there have been problems bringing Ecstasy Reconsidered through customs in the past, I was just wondering if anyone knows if this is still the case and if any local bookstores would carry these books.
Thanks.

You can probably obtain the Shulgins' books from alternative bookshops. I'd look in the yellow pages and ring around. I know of 2 people who have brought such books back from OS no problem, but I couldn't say whether these examples were the norm.

Just remember these are illegal in Australia, as are many good books. If we all registered our complaint of this classification it may help (idealistically thinking) to reword the indecent publication act, by which books such as these fall under.

I don't know whether asking for supplies of illicit items- even books - is strictly speaking a violation of the guidelines. I am OK with letting this run, as sensible harm reduction is hampered by censoring of valuable information, of which PiHKAL and Saunder's books are by any definition.

Good luck.

That book by Saunders is getting a bit old now, perhaps you should consider getting Ecstasy:the complete guide by Julie Holland, which is perfectly legal and any large "interesting" book shop should be able to order it in. Or you can buy it at MAPS or amazon. It has plenty of up to date research.

is the saunders book out of date? as far as the information is concerned.? but thanks for the tip on the holland ed,

Polyester Books in Melbourne will get you anything you need. They are more than willing to say fuck you to the laws and sell any damn book they want to. They will also mail order I think.

Lemme check their website... Ummm still not sure. Their contact details are on the site and I'm sure Paul would be more than happy to help you out. Don't miss his fantastic rant about censorship in Australia.

Oh and I'd have to agree; Dr Julie's book is probably the best first book to get. Saunders is dating a bit, which isn't his fault, what with dying too early and all...

I picked up PiHKAL from <a huge retail bookseller> in the Sydney CBD, and they offered to order in TiHKAL from the USA for me... I've also seen both of them in several other bookstores... Are these actually illegal guys?

I'll say where I got it from if I can confirm that they're not illegal...

if i were to get a book i would get the one written by dr. julie holland. its quite recent and she is a respected authority on mdma.

Thank you very much to everyone for their advice. I think I will probably start by getting hold of Holland's book (I had seen it around when I was looking into which books to get, but wasn't sure how good it was) and then maybe further down the track try and acquire Pihkal and one of Saunders' books.

PiHKAL - A Chemical Love Story - Shulgin
E For Ecstasy - Saunders
Ecstasy and the Dance Culture - Saunders

All three were classified "RC" (Refused Classification) by the Office of Film and Literature Classificaton. Here's a link to the pdf version of the Publication Classification Guidelines. In it is says that publications will be classified RC due to "detailed instruction in (i) matters of crime or violence, (ii) the use of proscribed drugs". This is vague as all hell, but enough to get these books banned unfortunatly.

But as has been mentioned above, you can still get them. Just be aware that if you order them online they may be stopped by customs when they arrive in the country...

A passage from PiHKAL

If you haven't been able to get a copy of PiHKAL yet, here's a great entry in chapter 4 found online

A Lecture at the University

The opening...

I know that I have been scheduled to use this time to build up a picture of the how's and where's of drug action in the brain. It has been listed as a lecture on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of centrally active compounds. But I am going to exercise one of the precious freedoms allowed me as a professor-I am going to change the topic, and make it a lecture on politics and government.....

Alexandra Sasha Shulgin

Click to expand...