Alexander Theodore "Sasha" Shulgin was a renowned American medicinal chemist, biochemist, organic chemist, pharmacologist, psychopharmacologist, and author, born on June 17, 1925, and passed away on June 2, 2014.
Throughout his illustrious career, Shulgin made significant contributions to the field of psychopharmacology, introducing MDMA, also known as ecstasy, to psychologists in the late 1970s for therapeutic purposes. He also synthesized and personally tested over 230 psychoactive compounds, exploring their psychedelic and entactogenic properties.
In collaboration with his wife Ann Shulgin, he authored two seminal books, PIHKAL and TIHKAL, published in 1991 and 1997, respectively. These books meticulously documented their work and personal experiences with phenethylamines and tryptamines, two classes of psychoactive drugs. Shulgin's groundbreaking research involved the descriptive synthesis of numerous compounds, including those in the 2C* and DOx families, such as 2C-B and DOM.
As a result of his pioneering work in the field of psychedelic research and his innovative approach to rational drug design, Shulgin has been affectionately referred to as the "godfather of psychedelics".
