Alexander Shulgin, chemist: biography

Alexander Shulgin is a chemist, a pharmacologist popular in America, who has developed many modern psychoactive substances.

Biography of a chemist

In 1925, Alexander Shulgin was born in Berkeley. A chemist from God, as many colleagues and acquaintances called him.

His father was an emigrant from Russia. He was born in Orenburg, moved overseas soon after the Civil War, in 1923. By profession, he was a teacher, like his wife. Shulgin's mother was born in Illinois, her name was Henrietta Eitan.

Shulgin became famous after he began actively promoting the distribution of semisynthetic psychoactive substances, the so-called MDMA, in the late 1970s. In everyday life, they are better known as ecstasy pills.

He worked with his wife. Alexander Shulgin is a chemist whose book "Fenethylamines I knew and loved: The Chemical History of Love" became a bestseller in its time.

The scientist was engaged in synthesizing synthetic substances. Mostly in the company Dow Chemical has made a career, Alexander Shulgin. The chemist also worked on pesticides. His merits include obtaining a patent for the first biodegradable agricultural pesticide on the planet. It was this work that allowed Shulgin to get permission to study psychoactive substances, as a result of which ecstasy appeared.

Father of Ecstasy

From work in a chemical company in 1965, departed Alexander Shulgin. The chemist began teaching at universities, as well as doing his own research.

His research in psychopharmacology Shulgin began with the long-known known galucinogenic drugs, such as LSD, mescaline and psilocybin. Then he concentrated on the design of his own production.

Together with a company of like-minded people, which included several dozen people, constantly tested new substances Alexander Shulgin. Chemist, whose biography is closely related to psychoactive drugs, even developed his own Shulgin scale. With its help, the scientist together with associates gave descriptions of physical, auditory and visual effects. Only Shulgin himself personally experienced not less than one hundred psychoactive substances.

Participation in his experiments was hosted by her husband - Anna Shulgina. Together they developed various chemical variations of ecstasy, which led to various pleasant and negative effects. All these experiments are described in their books.

And today, people who specialize in psychopharmacology, called Shulgin "dad."

Spouse of a chemist

A big role in Shulgin's career was played by his wife. She was six years his junior.

Anne Shulgina was born and grew up in a small village Opicina, with a population of only eight thousand people. The village was located in Italy, near the town of Trieste. Here for several years, preceding the beginning of the Second World War, the American consul was her father.

She began her professional career as a psychedelic psychotherapist. At that time, psychoactive substances occupied a legal position in the market. Anne Shulgina was an ardent supporter of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, in particular his theory of psychoanalysis. From this perspective, she constantly stressed the potential of psychoactive substances, which can be used in the treatment of various diseases.

Shulgin and today, after the death of his wife, continues to advocate the legalization of psychedelics for patients for therapeutic purposes. Her point of view, she regularly proves and substantiates in reports on all sorts of pharmacological congresses.

In Russia, creativity Shulgin are wary. Thus, in 2004, the Service for Control of Drug Trafficking saw signs of promoting the use of prohibited substances in their books.

PiHKAL

It is under this abridged name that Shulgin's book is known to most people, which was published in 1991. Its full name is "Phenylethylamines, which I knew and loved: the history of chemical love."

Alexander Shulgin - a chemist whose photo in the second half of the XX century often found himself on the covers of popular science magazines, wrote a real bestseller for those times.

The first part of this ambiguous work is called "The Story of Love." It details the familiarity, biography and development of relations between Alexander and Anne Shulgin. Heroes derived under the recognizable aliases of Alice and Shura.

The second part of this autobiographical and scientific work is entirely devoted to a detailed description of the synthesis of about two hundred psychedelics. Basically their synthesis was handled by Shulgin himself. In addition, dosages are indicated, the effect that this or that substance can produce.

In Russia, the book was published in 2003 under the heading "Phenethylamines, which I knew and loved." However, soon disappeared from the shelves of bookstores after a ban issued by the State Drug Control Service.

TiHKAL

In 1997, Shulgin released his second pharmacological autobiography. Eight hundred-page work is devoted to the research of psychedelic tryptamines.

In fact, this is the continuation of his first book, which was published six years before. The new edition in the original translation was called "Tryptamines, which I learned and loved: Continuation."

Like the first edition, this book consists of two parts. In the first there is an autobiography of the authors. The second is entirely devoted to a detailed description of the synthesis of fifty psychedelic drugs. Dosages and expected effects are also given.

Scale of Shulgin

Shulgin's scale details the effect that psychoactive substances produce on the human body. Particular attention is paid to when and at what dosage the drug is taken.

Shulgin first published his system in 1986, later he described it in detail in his first book PiHKAL.

The scale is conditionally divided into four parts. The substance used, the dosage, the effect description and the rating according to this scale. When identifying the drug Shulgin uses the nomenclatural names of chemical compounds, so without at least the initial education of a chemist to understand it will not be easy.

The amount of substance is scrupulously prescribed, since the effect depends directly on this. In the scale, there are manifestations of visual, audial, mental and emotional effects.

The film about Shulgin

You can create a more complete picture of this scientist by watching the movie "Dirty Pictures". He was removed in 2010 by director Etienne Sourt. This is a short documentary biographical picture, which details the work of the hero of our article.

Alexander Shulgin - a chemist, a film about which immediately became very popular. So, on the site of "Kinopoisk" he has a very high rating for the documentary film 7.9.

The director in the picture described in detail the works of researchers and scientists who for decades have been studying how psychedelics affect the mind and behavior of people.

The film details the motives and beliefs of those who are often accused of drug propaganda. The life of the chemist Shulgin is most fully represented. His scientific achievements, steps on the way to understanding the depths of the human mind.

Etienne Sowurt is well known in America as the author of biographical documentary films. In particular, he made a picture of "Whitey: USA vs. James J. Bulger." It is dedicated to the life and death of gangster James Bulger.

In 2011, he released a picture about US President Ronald Reagan.

Personal life

Alexander Shulgin - a chemist, children in the life of which never appeared. At the same time with his wife Anne, he was quite happy in a long-term marriage. Now his wife has remained a widow, but continues the main business of her husband's life. At the moment she turned 86 years old. Anne Shulgina has rarely appeared in public.

Alexander Shulgin, a chemist, died in June 2014. A few years before, he suffered a severe stroke, after which he did not return to active work. In 2014 doctors ascertained death from liver cancer. Shulgin died in his own home in the US in California. He was 88 years old.