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'Godfather of Ecstasy,' Chemist Sasha Shulgin Dies Aged 88
EwanPalmer (2536690) writes "Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin, the chemist, pharmacologist and author known for popularizing the drug MDMA as well as creating and synthesizing hundreds of psychoactive drugs, has died aged 88. Shulgin was known for discovering, creating and personally testing hundreds of psychoactive chemicals and documenting the results, along with his wife, in his books and papers. He is also known for introducing the positive aspects of MDMA to psychologists, which in term helped it become a popular recreational drug in the 1980s." With less irritation from auto-playing video sound, try the BBC.
Better? Say, where is that magical land where the drugs are BETTER today?
If anything, you get more junk, more crap, more additives and less of the good stuff.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Shulgin's work had nothing to do with weed, addictive drugs or getting a body high.
He invented and classified an entire new spectrum of chemicals closely related to the brain's chemicals such as serotonine. He tried to synthesize every possible combination, moving the amino groups around, substituting existing compounds with allyl or methoxy groups, and experimented with all these chemicals on himself with precise procedures to ensure his safety. These chemicals have proven to be extremely powerful consciousness-altering drugs, active at just a few milligrams, producing profound mind-bending effects and providing an unparalleled insight in the inner workings of the mind and its chemical balance.
He has provided the public with detailed descriptions of these chemicals, both synthesis and their subjective effects. He never profited financially and risked his life and freedom many times just to chase this knowledge. (And have great sex, as he states in his books). Alexander Shulgin was a genius, and the way society is developing there will probably never be a man like him again.