Alexander Shulgin, 'Godfather of ecstasy', dies aged 88

Sunnyisland

The chemical scientist who reinvented the popular party drug ecstasy has died at the age of 88 from liver cancer.

Alexander Shulgin earned his nickname, the Godfather of ecstasy, after honing a way to make the drug - and testing it out on himself to check it had worked.

A Facebook post by his wife and research partner, Ann, said he died "surrounded by family and caretakers and Buddhist meditation music".

He lived out his final years at his home in Northern California.

'The Godfather'
Shulgin began his study of organic chemistry at Harvard University in his teens and, after a stint in the US Navy during World War Two, returned to Berkeley to get his PhD in biochemistry at the University of California.

In his early working career, he joined Dow Chemical Company and, while there, developed the world's first biodegradable pesticide.

But it was while he was pursuing his own research that he began experimenting with psychoactive compounds.


He tested out his new creations on himself, inviting small groups of friends to join him in the tasting sessions.

During the swinging '60s, he says he made and tested hundreds of concoctions.

In 1965, he parted company with Dow, but continued his studies and began teaching classes at local universities.

Ecstasy
Nearly a decade later, he came across a compound closely related to what we now call ecstasy or MDMA.

MDMA had been previously synthesised and patented in 1912 by the pharmaceutical company Merck, but was never fully explored within humans.

Shulgin decided to start human trials - again, starting with himself.

Once he had fine-tuned his recipe, he introduced the chemical to a psychologist from Oakland called Leo Zeff.

And Zeff introduced Shulgin to a lay therapist called Ann, who later became Shulgin's wife.

Zeff used small doses of the substance in his practice as an aid to talk therapy, and introduced it to hundreds of psychologists across the nation.

Clubbers have been known to use ecstasy so they can dance for hours. In some cases, people have died from taking ecstasy.

The drugs advice charity Frank says a big problem with ecstasy is that it's rarely pure.

"Regardless of what it looks like and what it is called, you can't be sure what's in a pill or a powder and you can't predict how you'll react," it advises.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27676669

Ok Godfather of ecstasy has died, should he rave in heaven or rot in hell ?



Tried it myself a few times years ago , I was quite happy with the experience ,rave in heaven I say....

Mr. Incognito

Rave in peace dude.

El Weirdo

The guy was a legend.

RIP.

Mr. CooL ICE

Never have and never will take ecstasy, but I commend his lifetime achievements. RIP

kneemos

Drugs kill obviously.

rodge68

RIP......Fair play to him for turning boring nights into great nights (well in my mind anyway)...downside my jaws used to kill me for days afterwards !!!!

VenomousFish

great chemist. rip

ScumLord

realies wrote: »

A Facebook post by his wife and research partner, Ann, said he died "surrounded by family and caretakers and pounding, pounding techno music".

The father of an entire music scene too.

Schwiiing

We'll see all the scummers out in force for this thread. The man is responsible for an inordinate amount of needless deaths. Although I have no sympathy for anyone who dies from taking illegal drugs. They're no loss to society.

jiminho

I doubt the guy foresaw it being used as a party drug. 88 is a ripe old age, fair play to him on his accomplishments and RIP.

desultory

kneemos wrote: »

Drugs kill obviously.

Years ago my father told me in no uncertain terms not to smoke, his grandfather had smoked before him and his father after that. Both of them had contracted cancer and it was as a direct result of smoking apparently. For years this frustrated me as smoking always seemed so enjoyable, my father however lived a full healthy life not contracting cancer having not smoked so clearly it wasn't heridatery.

I know this seems off the point but I guess what I'm trying to say is, I wish I had started smoking because that post gave me cancer anyway.

frag420

So long sweet prince, you did good!!

The Diabolical Monocle

realies wrote: »

The chemical scientist who reinvented the popular party drug ecstasy has died at the age of 88 from liver cancer.

Alexander Shulgin earned his nickname, the Godfather of ecstasy, after honing a way to make the drug - and testing it out on himself to check it had worked.

A Facebook post by his wife and research partner, Ann, said he died "surrounded by family and caretakers and Buddhist meditation music by ravers with glowsticks and whistles".

.

Karl Stein

kneemos wrote: »

Drugs kill obviously.

There was a guy living up the road from me who was killed by drugs. He was working in a pharmacy supply depot and a big crate of paracetamol fell off a forklift and killed him.

SEPT 23 1989

Schwiiing wrote: »

We'll see all the scummers out in force for this thread. The man is responsible for an inordinate amount of needless deaths. Although I have no sympathy for anyone who dies from taking illegal drugs. They're no loss to society.

Chill out man

Temptamperu

He hated the rave scene and though it should just be used in psychology. RIP dude.

minidazzler

kneemos wrote: »

Drugs kill obviously.

Life kills...

Schwiiing wrote: »

We'll see all the scummers out in force for this thread. The man is responsible for an inordinate amount of needless deaths. Although I have no sympathy for anyone who dies from taking illegal drugs. They're no loss to society.

You do know there are more people addicted to prescription drugs than anything else right? Which is legal, but kills. Do you have sympathy for them because government says their drug is OK? What I'm trying to say, is your post is stupid, so stupid that I can't imagine anyone with their wits about them to have said it.

And Ecstasy in it's purer forms is relatively harmless.... I'm not someone who takes it, it's not for me, the hangover is too bad, but to judge those that do.... man four letter words describe you

desultory

minidazzler wrote: »

Life kills...



You do know there are more people addicted to prescription drugs than anything else right? Which is legal, but kills. Do you have sympathy for them because government says their drug is OK? What I'm trying to say, is your post is stupid, so stupid that I can't imagine anyone with their wits about them to have said it.

It's an odd coincidence but one that appears all too often in that the staunch anti drugs brigade are so vehemently against drugs that they come out with quite possibly the stupidest statements I've ever read.

Temptamperu

Man if i could come into a thread and not be called a "scummer" I would be so happy.

My name is URL

Schwiiing wrote: »

We'll see all the scummers out in force for this thread. The man is responsible for an inordinate amount of needless deaths. Although I have no sympathy for anyone who dies from taking illegal drugs. They're no loss to society.

And the most clueless post of the day award goes to

kneemos

minidazzler wrote: »

Life kills...



You do know there are more people addicted to prescription drugs than anything else right? Which is legal, but kills. Do you have sympathy for them because government says their drug is OK? What I'm trying to say, is your post is stupid, so stupid that I can't imagine anyone with their wits about them to have said it.

And Ecstasy in it's purer forms is relatively harmless.... I'm not someone who takes it, it's not for me, the hangover is too bad, but to judge those that do.... man four letter words describe you

So two wrongs do indeed make a right.Seems to be the stock argument amongst drug users.Sure alcohol is legal...whaa whaa.

VenomousFish

Schwiiing wrote: »

We'll see all the scummers out in force for this thread. The man is responsible for an inordinate amount of needless deaths. Although I have no sympathy for anyone who dies from taking illegal drugs. They're no loss to society.

:rolleyes:
Only if you count Mexacarbate! Most deaths caused by illegal drugs are a result of deliberate mislabeling of drugs, NBOMe as LSD for example. Shulgin is hardly responsible for people trying to make a quick buck selling research chemicals to uneducated teens by claiming it to be a chemical he original synthesized.

VenomousFish

kneemos wrote: »

So two wrongs do indeed make a right.Seems to be the stock argument amongst drug users.Sure alcohol is legal...whaa whaa.

You add "whaa whaa" to the argument, yet you make no attempt to refute it?

kneemos

VenomousFish wrote: »

You add "whaa whaa" to the argument, yet you make no attempt to discredit it?

Discredit what?

strobe

I remember back in 2008 when Hoffman kissed the sky the streets were awash. Good year ahead for pill heads me thinks.

rubadub

Schwiiing wrote: »

The man is responsible for an inordinate amount of needless deaths.

Jaysus, so what do you think about Arthur Guinness & Mr Smirnov/smirnoff so? they must be appear worse than Hitler to you.

There are very few deaths from ecstasy relative to its massive user base, this is why many doctors would call for its legalization, a very safe track record. One of the most famous deaths Leah Betts was manslaughter by the media propaganda, not the actual drug, their sensationalist stories led her to overdose on water.

Schwiiing wrote: »

Although I have no sympathy for anyone who dies from taking illegal drugs. They're no loss to society.

Is it just the legality issue that bothers you? If a friend of yours died walking home drunk after being hit by a car after illegally drinking in a lock-in after hours would you also have no sympathy?

The One Doctor

RIP, a great man for his achievements. I've never taken ecstasy but in a secure setting with an unadulterated supply it worked miracles in achieving psychological breakthroughs.

Greenmachine

rubadub wrote: »

Jaysus, so what do you think about Arthur Guinness & Mr Smirnov/smirnoff so? they must be appear worse than Hitler to you.

There are very few deaths from ecstasy relative to its massive user base, this is why many doctors would call for its legalization, a very safe track record. One of the most famous deaths Leah Betts was manslaughter by the media propaganda, not the actual drug, their sensationalist stories led her to overdose on water.

Is it just the legality issue that bothers you? If a friend of yours died walking home drunk after being hit by a car after illegally drinking in a lock-in after hours would you also have no sympathy?

More people are hypersensitive to caffeine. RIP.

Temptamperu

They're no loss to society.

Kurt Cobain
Amy Winehouse
David Bowie
Syd Barrett
Neil Young
George Harrison
Brian Wilson
Brian Jones
John Lennon

no loss what so ever. (and thats of the top of my head)

rubadub

If he is not a fan of any of those artists he might have listened to something else on an ipod,

“Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.” -Steve Jobs

Sunnyisland

Temptamperu wrote: »

They're no loss to society.

Kurt Cobain
Amy Winehouse
David Bowie
Syd Barrett
Neil Young
George Harrison
Brian Wilson
Brian Jones
John Lennon

no loss what so ever. (and thats of the top of my head)

Someone better tell David Bowie he is dead :-)

Temptamperu

Ha! my mistake.

must be all the drugs :pac:

desultory

Temptamperu wrote: »

Ha! my mistake.

must be all the drugs :pac:

That made me google him thinking I'd missed some major news!

Agent Coulson

realies wrote: »

Someone better tell David Bowie he is dead :-)

Bowie needs to let Neil Young know then that he is dead as well

Temptamperu

Lets just say its a list of drug users. That are or will be a loss to society.

Howard the Duck

Temptamperu wrote: »

They're no loss to society.

Kurt Cobain
Amy Winehouse
David Bowie
Syd Barrett
Neil Young
George Harrison
Brian Wilson
Brian Jones
John Lennon

no loss what so ever. (and thats of the top of my head)

Also Brian Wilson is alive, perhaps not in the best of mental health, probably because of drugs but still alive.

SEPT 23 1989

What a bland grey stale world it would be without men like these opening the doors to the other side ,RIP

rolliepoley

“How long will this last, this delicious feeling of being alive, of having penetrated the veil which hides beauty and the wonders of celestial vistas? It doesn't matter, as there can be nothing but gratitude for even a glimpse of what exists for those who can become open to it.”



Alexander Shulgin, Pihkal: A Chemical Love Story.

RIP.

sabat

Hmmm, how to pick just one tune to mark the occasion...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLr3dSekkIY

Schwiiing

Temptamperu wrote: »

They're no loss to society.

Kurt Cobain
Amy Winehouse
David Bowie
Syd Barrett
Neil Young
George Harrison
Brian Wilson
Brian Jones
John Lennon

no loss what so ever. (and thats of the top of my head)

Most of these either aren't dead or died from form other causes such cancer murder suicide etc. Try again. And as for a loss to society, they wrote a few songs and that's about it. None of them did anything of any real use to every man, woman and child on earth,ie society. None of them cured cancer, ended world hunger, brought us world peace etc. John Lennon tried but much like Bono I reckon it was mostly for show.

mardybumbum

Crick discovered the structure of DNA while tripping balls on acid.
Real use to society?

Schwiiing

rubadub wrote: »

Is it just the legality issue that bothers you? If a friend of yours died walking home drunk after being hit by a car after illegally drinking in a lock-in after hours would you also have no sympathy?

Speaking from experience, although he didnt die but was injured (thankfully not badly) in the manner you described I can safely say I didnt have any sympathy for him and I told him as such. Taxis were available or the pub owner would have left him home but he was too mean to pay and walked home with no light or hi-vis vest. He was at least 50% responsible.

Schwiiing

mardybumbum wrote: »

Crick discovered the structure of DNA while tripping balls on acid.
Real use to society?

Did he discover because he was on LSD or he just happened to be on LSD at the time?

TheGlass

Ironically its people like Schwiing that would probably benefit the most from some of the drugs they bitterly and angrily rail against

Schwiiing

TheGlass wrote: »

Ironically its people like Schwiing that would probably benefit the most from some of the drugs they bitterly and angrily rail against

Why?

jonnny68

RIP Alexander Shulgin

Viva Acid House
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=kp&v=xhSB_6EQ0DM

Pwindedd

Schwiiing wrote: »

Why?

Because you seem a little erm....tense?

desultory

Schwiiing wrote: »

Why?

Drugs tend to enhance people's personalities and you have a shîte one.

jonnny68

Temptamperu wrote: »

He hated the rave scene and though it should just be used in psychology. RIP dude.

He didn't "hate the rave scene" he is quoted as saying he was astounded that Ecstasy and the Rave scene became as big as it was initially as Acid House and then the early Hardcore and Techno scene of the early 90's and the subsequent split in the scene which spawned many different styles.

It is true however without Ecstasy there would've been no Rave scene, Acid House for those old enough to remember these halcyon days was the biggest music revolution since the 60's.

Sunnyisland

In an article for Time Magaine in 2002, he said: "Drugs don't do things. They only catalyse what's already there. No drug has skill. It's you who has skill. You only have to know it."

LemonPlant

Schwiiing wrote: »

We'll see all the scummers out in force for this thread. The man is responsible for an inordinate amount of needless deaths. Although I have no sympathy for anyone who dies from taking illegal drugs. They're no loss to society.

you are very close minded.

MDMA for example can be under as a therapy for people with real depression.



Sure, you may get thugs that use MDMA but sure, like really, cop on would you?.
Cop the **** on.