Meet Dr. Ecstasy

At the turn of the last century, there were only two psychedelic compounds known to man: cannabis and mescaline (which is what makes peyote so popular with shamans and hippies). By the 1950s, scientists had developed or uncovered LSD, psilocybin (the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms”) and about 15 more compounds you’ve probably never heard of. These days, we’re well into the hundreds, thanks in large part to the work of an organic chemist named Dr. Alexander Shulgin and many years’ worth of experimentation (much of it on himself) in a tiny lab in his backyard in Northern California. (Pictured above: Shulgin and his wife, Ann.)

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Via: Mental Floss