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  • EADD Moderators: Shambles

Sasha Shulgin, "Godfather of Ecstasy," Dead at 88

Goodbye Mr Shulgin. Thank you for changing my life in such a positive way.

Obviously this is nothing to the eulogies we'll present when SG dies. Roll on that day.
 
Sammy G said:
Sad to see the guy go, despite the fact that he didn't really 'rediscover' MDMA in the way that popular legend would have us believe (he was a little bit late on that front), and he spent a lot of his time on the payroll of the DEA, ultimately working against the counterculture which so embraced him.
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Those are quite the bold statements. The kinda thing that needs backing up cos doesn't fit with anything I've ever heard about the fella. He did work for the DEA yes. What better way to work for 60-odd years? He'd never have been able to achieve what he did if he went the other route cos he'd be locked up along with all the others who tried. Only way to truly change a system is from the inside out.

ScotchMist said:
Thank you Shulgin <3
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That. Not much else to say really.
 
Shambles said:
Those are quite the bold statements. The kinda thing that needs backing up cos doesn't fit with anything I've ever heard about the fella. He did work for the DEA yes. What better way to work for 60-odd years? He'd never have been able to achieve what he did if he went the other route cos he'd be locked up along with all the others who tried. Only way to truly change a system is from the inside out.
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What bold statement needs backing up? Apart from the one about the DEA which you agreed with? :D
 
The bit about not redsicovering MDMA - he did. He may not have been a huge fan of the stuff but he did recognise its value. He disapproved of its use as a party drug but disapproved of "party drugs" in general - hippy shit was endemic to that age. It doesn't take away from the fact he did rediscover MDMA, find a new use for it, spread it to the masses (albeit tangentially). Also the bit about working for the DEA thus "working against the counterculture which so embraced him". That's demonstrably untrue. How subversive can a person be? He distributed exact recipes for several hundred - if not thousand - illegal, yet rather well-approved of amongst that subculture which embraces him - psychoactive substances. The Hive and places like that tried to do it the purely counterculture way - how did that work out? Corrupt as fuck, shut down and locked up. The man had a brain so knew how to get things out from with the system. That's doing it right. That is why he is <3'd so.
 
Shammy back on form. I don't know enough about Shulgin. Are there any good reads on him?

I wish I was at home right now, I'd drop one of my pills in memory of him. :D
 
There are some interesting discussions with him, docs etc on Youtube..<3

PIHKAL snd THIKAL of course too but although I own them I havee yet to read the readable bits properly will admit..:?
 
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During his time working for the DEA, he was called as an expert witness in trials which resulted in the prosecution of drug manufacturers, dealers and users. Surely that's directly working against the (spit out the word) counterculture for starters, wouldn't you agree?

As for the 'rediscovery' of MDMA, yes, he proselytised more than anybody, and his work was astounding on many levels. Yet MDMA was already being used recreationally - albeit in small circles - when Shulgin encountered it for the first time. My memory is sketchy, but I recall that a fellow student informed him that it had conicidentally cured a complaint of his (I told you my memory is sketchy) when he'd taken it recreationally, thus piquing Shulgin's interest. So he brought the drug to prominence; he didn't 'rediscover' it in anything but the loosest sense of the word.

I'm not trying to be deliberately irreverent or to detract from the guy's achievements; quite the opposite in fact. I'm just trying to dispel some popular myths, and maybe in the process people who think of him as 'That Ecstasy Guy' might be prompted to dig a little deeper.

Plus I much prefer 2C-B.
 
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PIHKAL and TIHKAL are the obvious ones. The recipes and reviews section are posted on Erowid (amongst other places) but the autobiographical sections you have to buy the books to read. His most recent releases are highly technical and mainly aimed at chemists. His entire life's work condensed into... several thousand recipes.

Check the recent documentary for a general beginner's guide - Dirty Pictures. Which is especially striking to me as I felt an overwhelming compulsion to watch it (for the first time) just this weekend whilst (rather deeply) under the influence of (actually two) of his creations. Synchronicity is a fine thing <3

Sammy: The very specific details of how and why MDMA was rediscovered are kinda vague but there is no doubt he was the person that synthed enough to be tasted by enough for it to mushroom (as it were). Some say he was prompted, others say he prompted others. I doubt any of their memories are working well enough for anybody else to be sure. There is no doubt that all the early mass-production came from his immediate circle of friends and - as mentioned - he disapproved of "party drugs". I'm not disagreeing he testified against clandestine producers - he had legit reason to be pissed off that people took profit over principle. It went against everything he stood for. He gave it away free - selling it, turning it into yet another illicit drug sold for profit with all the violence and shit that brings was a Bad Thing. Idealism meets reality perhaps. He was in the right - nowt wrong with holding true to your ideals. Especially when they are the way to go - however unrealistic. If he and his friends can make and give away why should scumbags turn that into some shitty street drug?
 
inflorescence said:
PHIKAL snd THIKAL of course too but although I own them I havee yet to read the readable bits properly will admit..:?
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Shambles said:
PIHKAL and TIHKAL are the obvious ones. The recipes and reviews section are posted on Erowid (amongst other places) but the autobiographical sections you have to buy the books to read. His most recent releases are highly technical and mainly aimed at chemists. His entire life's work condensed into... several thousand recipes.

Check the recent documentary for a general beginner's guide - Dirty Pictures. Which is especially striking to me as I felt an overwhelming compulsion to watch it (for the first time) just this weekend whilst (rather deeply) under the influence of (actually two) of his creations. Synchronicity is a fine thing <3
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Thanks guys.

I certainly feel TIHKAL & PIHKAL are books that I should own even if I don't understand the majority of their contents!

I will check out that documentary too. I think I will save it up for when I try my MDMA I have at home, would be nice to drop some 45 mins in or so.
 
Chatative said:
Thanks guys.

I certainly feel TIHKAL & PIHKAL are books that I should own even if I don't understand the majority of their contents!
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Honestly a majority of it will be understandable. They both start off as stories and then it's a series of trip reports with recipes above them.
 
It doesn't matter if he rediscovered it or not, he was instrumental in bringing MDMA to a wider audience and for that I owe him my life. He was also one of us - a man who wanted drug legalisation to allow discovery, actualisation and the ability to lead our lives the way we want to.

RIP - a giant amongst men.
 
RIP Sasha.

Thank you for the wonderful experiences due to your hard work.
Coincidentally I was tripping yesterday on 2ci... that man worked wonders. He shall never be replaced.
 
R.I.P Shulgin

Discovered so many substances that have given thousands of people joy and pleasure.
 
I have just realised there is a thread open here already.

Alexander, thank you for your contribution and your great research on use of MDMA to mental illness therapy.
 
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