Shulgin Alexander Fedorovich. Biography and contributions to science

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

The biography of Alexander Fedorovich Shulgin is replete with interesting events and facts. This is, without a doubt, an outstanding personality, about which I want to know more. We will tell about this talented scientist in this article.

Quick reference

Shulgin Alexander Fedorovich was born on June 17, 1925 in the city of Berkeley, California, which is located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. The man died relatively recently, namely on June 2, 2014 from liver cancer. The scientist died in his personal home in California. During his lifetime, he became famous as an outstanding American chemist and pharmacologist of Russian origin. In addition, Shulgin Alexander Fedorovich was the developer of various psychoactive substances.

Science and drugs

Among the general masses, the man became famous for having put his hand to the popularization of MDMA in the 70-80s in the USA. He was sure that this substance, which is considered a narcotic, like many others, can and should be used inmodern medicine as a treatment for mental and neurological diseases.

Alexander Fedorovich Shulgin actively proved and widely propagated his point of view. Already in the early 80s of the last millennium, MDMA began to be practiced first by psychologists and psychiatrists, and then it became widespread among young people who swallowed it before or during trips to bars and nightclubs.

It was at this time that the euphoretic got its name, which is known, perhaps, to everyone - ecstasy. The scientist denied his new title of "Godfather of Ecstasy", because the chemist was primarily interested in the medical use of the substance. Shulgin Alexander Fedorovich in his entire life managed to study and synthesize about 230 compounds that had a direct effect on the central nervous system. Among them are substances 2C-E, 2C-I and 2C-B, which later became famous all over the world.

Books by Alexander Fedorovich Shulgin

The scientist, together with his wife Anna Shulgina, published the books they wrote, PiHKAL and TiHKAL, which quickly became popular among the people. Each of them consists of two semantic parts: one is autobiographical in nature, the other is closer to science, since it provides a specific description of the synthesis, effects, dosages and other useful and important information. Unfortunately, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, both books are banned in our country as publications that promote drugs.

PiHKAL

One of the possibletranslations of the title's abbreviation is "The Phenylethylamines I Knew and Loved: A Chemical Love Story". It, as the name implies, is dedicated to such a group of psychoactive substances as phenylethylamines, the chemist himself had a hand in the synthesis of which. In 2003, the book disappeared from the shelves of bookstores, as the State Drug Control Service considered it to be promoting drugs.

TiHKAL

This work, created by Shulgin and his wife, received a Russian translation of "Tryptamines I Learned and Loved: Continued". It is also devoted to the description, effects and dosages of various tryptamines, synthesized by a well-known pharmacologist.

Active citizenship

Alexander Fedorovich Shulgin insisted on the need to legalize psychedelic substances not only for their medical use, but also for free use. His position on this score was reinforced by the struggle for the freedom of the individual, which he openly chanted to the masses. The chemist believed that each of us was born and exists in this world to know ourselves and expand this knowledge. After all, a person is a huge palace of information. Namely, with the help of psychedelic substances, the individual, as with the help of tools, is able to isolate this knowledge hidden in the depths of his brain and body.

Shulgin claimed that only his generation puts prohibitions on self-knowledge, and the study of the mind in the modern world has become a real crime. Development peoplepsychopharmacology, often called the great scientist "dad". Below is a photo of Shulgin Alexander Fedorovich with his wife.

Shulgin scale

A scientist with his experimental group of 20-30 people in the study of psychoactive substances introduced for convenience a scale named after him. With its help, different dosages of various substances were evaluated, namely their effects on the human body. Legend:

• "-" A normal, un altered state in which no effect is felt on the body.
• "±" A state that can be described as the beginning of a break from reality under the influence of appropriate substances.
• "+" There is a real effect on the body, which a person is still able to observe. At this stage, negative effects such as dizziness or nausea may occur.
• "++" The influence of the drug on the body and the change in consciousness are unmistakably determined. The subject can hardly take notes of everything that happens to him.
• "+++" The maximum intensity of exposure to the substance. It is at this stage that the full disclosure of all the effects that can be exerted on the body occurs.

Last years of life

Shulgin lived a long and eventful life, and the first bells, speaking of impending death, began in 2010. On November 17 of that year, the chemist suffered a stroke, and a few years later he died of cancer.

Conclusion

We hope thatthis article was useful to you, and it was also interesting enough for you to read it. There are many famous personalities in the world whose biography would be interesting to know. Good luck with your further study and knowledge!