Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, known as the "Godfather of Ecstasy" and who created more than 200 psychedelic drugs, died Monday of liver cancer at age 88 at home in Berkeley, California.
His wife, Ann, posted about his death on his Facebook page.
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Shulgin took a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of California to his work at Dow Chemical Co., where he developed a biodegradable pesticide in 1961. He began experimenting with psychoactive compounds while pursuing his own research, often testing his creations on himself and his family and friends.
Among the compounds Shulgin created are stimulants, depressants, aphrodisiacs, drugs that alter one's sense of time, drugs that trigger violent outbursts, and drugs that deaden emotion. He also reintroduced the chemical MDMA, also known as Ecstasy.
Most of the drugs Shulgin experimented with weren’t illegal because they didn’t previously exist. The Drug Enforcement Agency raided his labs in the 1990s, fined Shulgin $25,000 and asked him to turn over his drug research license.
Recent studies suggest
ecstasy may be effective in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Twitter users bid Shulgin farewell.
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