Alexander Theodore "Sasha" Shulgin was an American medicinal chemist, biochemist, organic chemist, pharmacologist, psychopharmacologist, and author. He is credited with introducing 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine to psychologists in the late 1970s for psychopharmaceutical use and for the discovery, synthesis and personal bioassay of over 230 psychoactive compounds for their psychedelic and entactogenic potential.
PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story is a book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, published in 1991. The subject of the work is psychoactive phenethylamine chemical derivatives, notably those that act as psychedelics and/or empathogen-entactogens. The main title, PiHKAL, is an acronym that stands for "Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved".
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine is a psychedelic and a substituted amphetamine. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, and later reported in his book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. DOM is classified as a Schedule I substance in the United States, and is similarly controlled in other parts of the world. Internationally, it is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It is generally taken orally.
Escaline (3,5-methoxy-4-ethoxyphenethylamine) is a psychedelic drug and entheogen of the phenethylamine class of compounds. Escaline was first synthesized and reported in the scientific literature by Benington, et al., in 1954, but was later re-examined in the laboratory of David E. Nichols, who prepared a series of mescaline analogues that included escaline, proscaline, and isoproscaline. The effects of this and related mescaline analogues in humans were first described by Alexander Shulgin. In his book PiHKAL , Shulgin lists the dosage range as 40 to 60 mg, consumed orally. The duration of action was stated to be 8–12 hours.
Proscaline (4-propoxy-3,5-DMPEA) is a psychedelic and hallucinogenic drug. It has structural properties similar to the drugs mescaline, isoproscaline, and escaline. In PiHKAL, Alexander Shulgin reports that a dose of 30–60 mg produces effects lasting 8–12 hours.
2C-T is a psychedelic and hallucinogenic drug of the 2C family. It is used by some as an entheogen. It has structural and pharmacodynamic properties similar to the drugs mescaline and 2C-T-2.
2,4,5-Trimethoxyphenethylamine or is a phenethylamine of the 2C family and was first synthesized by Jansen in 1931. It is a positional isomer of the drug mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxy).
2C-O-4 (4-isopropoxy-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine) is a phenethylamine of the 2C family. It is also a positional isomer of isoproscaline and was probably first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. It produces hallucinogenic, psychedelic, and entheogenic effects. Because of the low potency of 2C-O-4, and the inactivity of 2C-O, Shulgin felt that the 2C-O series would not be an exciting area for research, and did not pursue any further analogues.
Lophophine is a putative psychedelic and entactogen drug of the methylenedioxyphenethylamine class. It is the α-demethylated homologue of MMDA, and is also closely related to mescaline.
Isoproscaline or 4-isopropoxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine is an analog of mescaline. It is closely related to proscaline and was first synthesized by David E. Nichols. It produces hallucinogenic, psychedelic, and entheogenic effects.
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylamphetamine is a psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, and was described in his book PiHKAL.
3,4-Methylenedioxy-N-propylamphetamine is a lesser-known psychedelic drug and a substituted amphetamine. MDPR was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. In his book PiHKAL, the minimum dosage is listed as 200 mg, and the duration unknown. MDPR is a promoter; by itself it has almost no effects on the mind, but it promotes the effects of hallucinogens, similarly to the closely related MDPH.
Metaescaline (3,4-dimethoxy-5-ethoxyphenethylamine) is a lesser-known psychedelic drug. It is an analog of mescaline. Metaescaline was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. In his book PiHKAL, the dosage range is listed as 200–350 mg, and the duration listed as 8–12 hours. Metaescaline produces mental insights, entactogenic, MDMA-like effects, and TOMSO-like activation. Little data exists about the pharmacological properties, metabolism, and toxicity of metaescaline, though it has been studied to a limited extent in comparison with other related compounds.
BOM (3,4,5,beta-tetramethoxyphenethylamine) is a lesser-known psychedelic drug. It is the beta-methoxy derivative of mescaline. BOM was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. In his book PiHKAL, the minimum dosage is listed as 200 mg, and the duration unknown. BOM produces few to no effects. Very little data exists about its pharmacological properties, metabolism, and toxicity.
3,4-Dimethoxyphenethylamine (DMPEA) is a chemical compound of the phenethylamine class. It is an analogue of the major human neurotransmitter dopamine where the 3- and 4-position hydroxy groups have been replaced with methoxy groups. It is also closely related to mescaline which is 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine.
Dimethoxyamphetamine (DMA) is a series of six lesser-known psychedelic drugs similar in structure to the three isomers of methoxyamphetamine and six isomers of trimethoxyamphetamine. The isomers are 2,3-DMA, 2,4-DMA, 2,5-DMA, 2,6-DMA, 3,4-DMA, and 3,5-DMA. Three of the isomers were characterized by Alexander Shulgin in his book PiHKAL. Little is known about their dangers or toxicity.
F-2, or 6-(2-aminopropyl)-5-methoxy-2-methyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran, is a lesser-known psychedelic drug. F-2 was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. In his book PiHKAL, the minimum dosage is listed as 15 mg, and the duration unknown. F-2 produces few to no effects at this dose in humans. Animal studies showed it to substitute for the psychedelic drug DOM, but with less than one tenth the potency.
MMDA-2 (2-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxyamphetamine) is a psychedelic drug of the amphetamine class. It is closely related to MMDA and MDA.
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-fluoroamphetamine (DOF) is a psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes. Alexander Shulgin briefly describes DOF in his book PiHKAL:
Animal studies that have compared DOF to the highly potent DOI and DOB imply that the human activity will be some four to six times less than these two heavier halide analogues.
2C-Se is a lesser-known psychedelic drug. It was originally named by Alexander Shulgin as described in his book PiHKAL. Shulgin considered 2C-Se to be around three times the potency of mescaline, but was too concerned about toxicity to test it extensively, though he considered it noteworthy as the only psychedelic drug to contain a selenium atom.
