About
"The Shulgins"
About Sasha
Alexander T. (“Sasha”) Shulgin was a visionary chemist credited with creating over 150 new psychedelic compounds and with identifying the unique psychological properties of MDMA, well-known as the prototype for a class of drugs named “empathogens” (sometimes called “entactogens”) for their abilities to generate feelings of empathy, compassion, and enhanced communication with other individuals. He is known to some as the “Godfather of Ecstasy” for being the first person to describe MDMA’s therapeutic potential. For years, his DEA license allowed him to work with scheduled psychedelics in his small, independent laboratory and after he surrendered his license in the wake of increasing publicity about his work, he continued to invent new compounds. Each time he created a compound with a seemingly psychedelic nature, he first tested its effects by ingesting it himself.
“That very first taste. That very first amount you take has an extraordinary feeling of excitement and an extraordinary feeling of fear coupled into the same phenomenon. It’s a marvelous combination.” - Alexander T. (“Sasha”) Shulgin
About Ann
Ann Shulgin was a writer, artist, and Jungian lay therapist who was among the first to use MDMA and 2C-B with clients in psychedelic-assisted therapy. As part of this work, she authored an early, crucial set of guidelines for working with MDMA in therapeutic settings, leaving an indelible mark upon the history of psychotherapy. She was passionate about exploring the exiled and repressed parts of oneself through the concept of the Shadow and, along with Sasha, conducted psychedelic experiments by ingesting novel and existing chemicals and cataloging their effects in trip reports. She co-authored the cult classics, PIHKAL and TIHKAL, making public the recipes for hundreds of psychedelic compounds and the love story at the center of their community, evidence of their work as not just a matter of the mind but also of the heart.
"These are not escapist tools, despite the pleasure one can feel and the wonderment. These do open the doors to your own terra incognita." - Ann Shulgin
The Shulgin Mission
Our mission is to preserve “The Farm”—Ann & Sasha’s home and groundbreaking chemistry lab—as a site for education, research, and programs and events that promote cross-pollination of disciplines within the field of psychedelics.
