Sasha Shulgin's Pharmacology Notebooks
Welcome to the Shulgin Pharmacology Notebook Project!
Launched by the Shulgin Foundation in collaboration with Hurtwood Press in the UK, we have created facsimile editions – dubbed “new originals”– of Sasha Shulgin’s pharmacology notebooks, where he recorded notes about the physical effects of a wide range of compounds. This was the first such systematic data collection around psychedelics.
Hurtwood Press has painstakingly recreated these Notebooks with remarkable fidelity. Combining advanced 21st-century printing and photographic processes with traditional bookbinding techniques reminiscent of 15th-century craftsmanship, each facsimile is a near-perfect replica of the original. The result is an object that not only honors the Shulgin’s groundbreaking contributions but also provides a tactile connection to their extraordinary legacy.
While the original Notebooks will be preserved in the archives at Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, the Shulgin Foundation is making these rare, limited-edition “New Originals” available to leadership-level donors. For collectors, these facsimiles represent an unparalleled opportunity to own a tangible piece of cultural and scientific history, preserving the spirit and significance of the Shulgins’ pioneering work for future generations.
These notebooks can be yours! Contact us for more information.
What are the Pharmacology Notebooks?
Sasha Shulgin is best known for being the groundbreaking chemist who synthesized over 200 novel psychedelic compounds at his home lab at the Shulgin Farm. But as his work progressed and he explored these various compounds, he became more and more interested in pharmacology, the study of the uses, effects, and modes of action of drugs. And as he was a meticulous record keeper, he not only kept lab journals detailing the work he did in the lab with synthesis and development of the compounds, as he shifted toward the explorations around the drug’s effects he kept those pharmacology notes with the same discipline.
In a series of notebooks, he detailed his pharmacologic explorations on the effects of a wide range of compounds, from his own creations like 2-CB to other entheogens and drugs like cannabis, yagé, and LSD. These notebooks offer insights into his growth as a chemist, the pathways his work took him down, and a window into his life as they also include personal elements including notes, pasted comics he found amusing, and poems from family.
The Shulgin Notebooks stand as testament to the visionary work of Sasha and Ann Shulgin, whose exploration of novel psychedelic compounds from the 1960s onwards, laid the foundation for today’s renewed interest in psychedelic science. These handwritten records offer a glimpse into their world—scientifically precise, deeply personal, and infused with humor and sensitivity. To engage with these Notebooks is to connect with the Shulgins’ fearless pursuit of discovery and their unwavering belief in the therapeutic and psychological potential of their work.
Reach out to find out how to add these notebooks to your library.
