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Dirty Pictures - The Alexander Shulgin Documentary

OTGee

OTGee

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Joined
Oct 27, 2011
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493
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Scotland
Hey everyone, I saw this documentary a while ago but I strongly suggest anyone who hasn't seen it to find it. It is readily available online, I have yet to see a physical copy. Alexander Shulgin, for those of you that don't know, is/was a huge figure for psychedelic / psycoactive substances. He has written the books TiHKAL and PiHKAL which feature effects and synthesis instructions of numerous psychedelic compounds. He has done extensive research into MDMA and other such substances and was one of the first people to notice its recreational value.

Just thought I would share this as I had not heard of it till I decided to do the extra research. Interesting documentary especially the parts that show his personal lab / house and speak to him and his wife directly. One of the most interesting topics I have seen in a documentary for a while :)
 
Omg I'm so keen to watch this, will find it now thanks! I have been on a real doco buzz lately lol.

SiHKAL is the only video I have seen on shulgin, props to hamiltons pharmacopia series on vice which I highly reccoumend :)

PiHKAL and TiHKAL are on my bucketlist for sure.. allthough I would like to get a better undertsanding of chemistry before I read them.

Cheers OTG
 
No problem dude, if you are looking for anymore psychedelic documentaries there is a good one on LSD that comes up as one of the first results for obvious searches on youtube. It is a little old but it is still interesting and not too boring.

Can anyone reccomend any others for me as well? Anything to do with Terence Mckenna to research chemicals to drug use in the 60's. I have seen a few but not many out there.
 
http://isomerdesign.com/Home/index.php
here is very well structured PiHKAL and TiHKAL mostly from chemical point of view

also PiHKAL hosted on Erowid
http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/pihkal/pihkal.shtml

there is also good book Structural tour for PiHKAL. which can help a lot to sort out chemicals puzzles

also any one (even without substantial knowledge of chemistry) can read commentary to trips. this commentaries are priceless as it give very accurate idea about what to expect from those or another substance.

it may be not so easy to understand hs commentaries because in normal life we do not have lenguage to describe such kind of expeiences.

as D.B. BLEWETT wrote in Handbook in LSD therapy

There are two reasons why the LSD experience does not lend itself readily to
verbalization. Firstly, the sensory aspect of the experience is outside the bounds of the
usual experience from which language has developed and for the description of which it
is intended. Secondly, the experience is mainly in the sphere of emotions or feelings
which are difficult to objectify or verbalize at the best of times.
Click to expand...

on one side complicated chemicals structures and on another side, metaphoric trip reports ... not an easy answer for the question like - for what a hell I need it all.

for me personally PiHKAL appears as much more complicated.
 
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Thanks for sharing - had no idea there was a documentary out there. Will certainly be watching it when I get a free moment - I'm typing this so technically, I suppose I'm free now
 
I remember a video of Shulgin being interviewed by Terence McKenna in a cemetery in Eastern Europe and he is asked: 'Unlike me you are so resistent to the implications. How can you do what you do, over and over again, and not be nutty as a fruitcake? Well, I would.' and both crack up :D
I'm sure it's somewhere out there.
 
another movie worth watching

Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin - Plant origins of drugs
 
i was looking forward to this - but was underwhelmed when i saw it. could have been so much better. still worth seeing though.
 
MaxTTR said:
http://isomerdesign.com/Home/index.php
here is very well structured PiHKAL and TiHKAL mostly from chemical point of view

also PiHKAL hosted on Erowid
http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/pihkal/pihkal.shtml

there is also good book Structural tour for PiHKAL. which can help a lot to sort out chemicals puzzles

also any one (even without substantial knowledge of chemistry) can read commentary to trips. this commentaries are priceless as it give very accurate idea about what to expect from those or another substance.
Click to expand...

The Book One half of PIHKAL and TIHKAL are nothing like the Book Two parts that are available online. Book One is pure narrative, delving into the minds of Sasha and Ann, including their first psychedelic trips and extended commentary on their uses of the drugs. It is understandable to anyone who has never studied chemistry.
 
greenmeanies said:
The Book One half of PIHKAL and TIHKAL are nothing like the Book Two parts that are available online. Book One is pure narrative, delving into the minds of Sasha and Ann, including their first psychedelic trips and extended commentary on their uses of the drugs. It is understandable to anyone who has never studied chemistry.
Click to expand...

for me second parts are much more interesting, a I know chemistry quite well and commentary and extensions after synthesis part to each compound is most valuable thing. you can read abut how to make it and what effect it has, what else. many people I know think that second parts is just chemical formulas and missing big time on reading commentaries.
 
Cool, I definately want to check it out. Still need to get the books too. This is a great community. :)
 
i watched this doc last night, thought it was pretty good. I really enjoyed the discussions around the human soul, consciousness and thinks like that. I love Sasha's views and didn't so much like the atheist chemist guy lol. I figured i wouldn't learn anything new but i most certainly did.
 
OTGee said:
Alexander Shulgin, for those of you that don't know, is/was a huge figure for psychedelic / psycoactive substances.
Click to expand...

You don't say. Is there anyone around here who *hasn't* heard of him?! ;)
 
You should check out a movie called "Magic Trip". Its about The Merry Pranksters and the trip they took. All of the footage was taken while they were out touring the country. It covers things from trip reports to the lives of all the different people on the bus.
Enjoy
 
cerebral_cortex said:
i was looking forward to this - but was underwhelmed when i saw it. could have been so much better. still worth seeing though.
Click to expand...

me too i was kinda hoping this would give more detailed look at why exactly does he do what he does so i could show the film to non-belivers :D i liked the film but i think that its not going to convince people that have not had contact with mind altering substances in the importance of them...

i would recomend this to those who haven't seen it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqEcQuqsE_Y
 
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