Alexander Shulgin And The War On Drugs: Cui Bono- (Who Benefits-)

Ecstasy godfather Alexander Shulgin, the US scientist most responsible for introducing ecstasy to the world, has donated autographed copies of his seminal books PIHKAL and TIHKAL to drug information charity site Erowid. Copies of both books, which remain definitive examinations of ecstasy and psychedelic drugs, are being given away as thank you gifts for donations of US$150 or more (those giving more than US$275 get both). Both books remain hard to find in mainstream stores, almost certainly because of their controversial editorial position, which challenges many, if not all of the dogmas associated with ecstasy.

Furthermore, Shulgin's 40 year career as one of the world's top pharmacologists (including a stint working for the DEA as a drug expert), has provided him with unprecedented insights into drug prohibition.

"My thesis is this: The War On Drugs has little to do with drugs and drug users," Shulgin writes in TIHKAL. "It exists and is promoted largely as a means to accumulate power in the form of money and in the gaining of control over individual citizens. The end state will be a complacent and obedient society (the terms Police State and Totalitarianism are too loaded to use casually but they are completely applicable) with no effective Constitutional rights and with a Congress which has an ineffective voice. The War On Drugs is a cover for these transformations."

Hugely knowledgeable about ecstasy, not least from having used it extensively himself as a human guinea pig, he's dismissive of much of the scientific 'evidence' about MDMA, the vast majority of which remains funded by Government bodies.

"Often abuse drugs, or illegal drugs are the subject of (grant) applications and, not unexpectedly, the questions asked suggest that the answers which might be found could be useful in advancing the anti-drug stance," he explains. "Note the fine distinction between 'Is MDMA neurotoxic in the salamander-' and 'What are the neurotoxic changes produced by MDMA in the salamandar-' It is essential that our present negative propaganda regarding psychedelic drugs be replaced with honesty and truthfulness about their effects, both good and bad."

http://www.erowid.org/donations/signed_books.shtml (Signed copies of PIHKAL and TIHKAL for sale)

http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/pihkal/pihkal109.shtml (PIHKAL: Alexander Shulgin's defining book on ecstasy - Essential reading for all E users)

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma_effects3.shtml (Short Term Side Effects of MDMA)

Jonty Adderley

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• drugs