Pihkal: A Chemical Love Story

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I'm not going to write a traditional review of this book. Everyone has already done that. I AM going to try to describe what it has done for me. This clove-scented molecule is itself a mild local anaesthetic and converts to 3,4-dimethoxy-amphetamine (3,4-DMA) with addition of ammonia. Austria: 2C-B is illegal to possess, produce and sell in Austria under the SMG (Suchtmittelgesetz Österreich). 2C-B is listed in Schedule V of the Suchtgiftverordnung, which further specifies the SMG. [24] Decreto 299/2010: Actualización de la lista de estupefacientes y demás sustancias químicas que deberán ser incluidas en losalcances de la Ley Nº 23.737" (PDF) (in Spanish). February 3, 2010 . Retrieved December 10, 2019.

As with PIHKAL, the Shulgins were motivated to release the synthesis information as a way to protect the public's access to information about psychedelic compounds, a goal Alexander Shulgin has noted many times. [1] Following a raid of his laboratory in 1994 by the United States DEA, [2] Richard Meyer, spokesman for DEA's San Francisco Field Division, stated that "It is our opinion that those books [referring to the previous work, PIHKAL] are pretty much cookbooks on how to make illegal drugs. Agents tell me that in clandestine labs that they have raided, they have found copies of those books." González, D., Torrens, M., & Farré, M. (2015). Acute Effects of the Novel Psychoactive Drug 2C-B on Emotions. BioMed Research International, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/643878 Papaseit, E., Farré, M., Pérez-Mañá, C., Torrens, M., Ventura, M., Pujadas, M., ... & González, D. (2018). Acute Pharmacological Effects of 2C-B in Humans: An Observational Study. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 9, 206. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2018.00206

#100 MDA

Alexander Shulgin spent his life as a researcher / scientist for the CIA developing, designing and creating all sorts of drugs that alter the way that the brain interprets senses and works. These drugs were considered a dangerous asset by the United States government, and for the longest time banned the publication of the information. Exposing compounds to the reagents gives a colour change which is indicative of the compound under test. While reading this book I attended a lecture given by Nobel laureate Kary Mullis. Kary Mullis received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1993 for the development of PCR. During his lecture he commented on the first scientific paper he published in Nature, in 1968. He described it as a sophomoric astrophysical hypothesis called "The Cosmological Significance of Time Reversal." He told the audience he ate LSD while writing it. Needless to say Nature is still probably a little embarrassed about publishing it.

phen-ethyl-amine \fen-'eth-al-a-,men\ n. [ phenyl fr. F. phène, fr. Gk. phainein, to show (from its occurrence in illuminating gas)+ ethyl ( + yl) + amine fr. NL ammonia] 1: A naturally occurring compound found in both the animal and plant kingdoms. It is an endogenous component of the human brain. 2: Any of a series of compounds containing the phenethylamine skeleton, and modified by chemical constituents at appropriate positions in the molecule. Through PIHKAL (and later TIHKAL), Shulgin sought to ensure that his discoveries would escape the limits of professional research labs and find their way to the public, a goal consistent with his stated beliefs that psychedelic drugs can be valuable tools for self-exploration. The MDMA ("ecstasy") synthesis published in PIHKAL remains one of the most common clandestine methods of its manufacture to this day. Many countries have banned the major substances for which this book gives directions for synthesis, such as 2C-B, 2C-T-2, and 2C-T-7. In the United Kingdom, all but phenethylamine are illegal. [ citation needed]

Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved:

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.” Psychedelics - When used in combination with other psychedelics, each substance's physical, cognitive and visual effects intensify and synergize strongly. The synergy between those substances is unpredictable, and for this reason generally not advised. If choosing to combine psychedelics, it is recommended to start with significantly lower dosages than one would take for either substance individually. The final chapter is a John Galt-like argument for the legalization and use of psychedelic drugs and a more libertarian approach to freedom with some light warnings against the slippery slope of government control. This is Shulgin at his most passionate. Talaie, H.; Panahandeh, R.; Fayaznouri, M. R.; Asadi, Z.; Abdollahi, M. (2009). "Dose-independent occurrence of seizure with tramadol". Journal of Medical Toxicology. 5 (2): 63–67. doi: 10.1007/BF03161089. ISSN 1556-9039.

This book is utterly amazing. The first half is a very endearing sort of dual biography from Alexander and Ann Shulgin, and the second half is a description of quite a number of substances created and/or tested by the Shulgins and friends. Warning: Many psychoactive substances that are reasonably safe to use on their own can suddenly become dangerous and even life-threatening when combined with certain other substances. The following list provides some known dangerous interactions (although it is not guaranteed to include all of them).

#20 2C-B

Schedule III". Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). Isomer Design . Retrieved October 10, 2020. the second section, where I knew I'd be skipping a lot of the straight chemistry and didn't really think I would like it, was actually preferable in that I could see that shulgin is definitely a very talented chemist, very into his research. PMA is toxic at much lower doses than MDMA, so users were often consuming what they thought was a standard dose of MDMA, but what was in actuality a toxic overdose of PMA. Compounding the problem, PMA’s effects take around two hours to manifest (at least twice as long as MDMA), so users were often doubling up when they experienced no effects after an hour or so. Prof. David Nutt explains the consequence of this:

Alexander Shulgin was a researcher of psychotropics which he had been inventing in his laboratories and testing on himself for almost half a century. Actually, no; merely calling him that would be like describing J.S. Bach simply as a Baroque musician. If it wasn't for him, a great many psychoactive compounds, including MDMA, the tremendous potential for psychotherapeutic use of which it was also he who discovered, would have never seen the light of day; people wouldn't have enjoyed them and found insight in their use... The field as a whole would be much poorer. It was originally transcribed into ASCII by Simson Garfinkleand was coverted into HTML by Lamont Granquist.It feels appropriate to begin with a quote about Alexander Shulgin from Hamilton Morris, as it was his words that lead to me reading this book: Ann's ("Alice") portion of the "love story" is absurdly overblown and doesn't fit well into the focal point of the book. I could have done without this section entirely. The first part of the book is Dr. Shulgin's own personal story as well as that of his wife and their friends and colleagues who helped out in the experimentation with phenethylamines. I'm not sure exactly how much is attributable to artistic license and how much is truthful. I believe it's "officially" fictional. Self incrimination and all... Cannabis - Cannabis majorly intensifies and extends both the sensory and cognitive effects of 2C-B. Extreme caution should be exercised with this combination as it can also elevate the anxiety, confusion and psychosis risk of cannabis.