Now Available!
Author: Alexander Shulgin
Afterword by David Presti
Illustrations by Donna Torres
Photographs by Keeper Trout
The Nature of Drugs begins with a deceptively simple question: what is a drug?
“The definition of a drug is probably one of the most difficult of the lot. Some will be extremely narrow in the definition, requiring that it be a chemical that is used for the treatment of some illness. Others will widen the scope to include anything and everything that in some way affects the living system. Often people will answer with that marvelous, catch-all phrase ‘Well, you know what a drug is,’ or ‘Everyone knows what a drug is.’”
So, what is a drug?
This is your invitation to “Just Say Know” and explore The Nature of Drugs with renowned chemist Alexander Shulgin in his San Francisco State University lecture hall in 1987. Picking up where Volume One left off, this book is a continuation of Sasha’s original lectures recorded by Ann Shulgin during his classes, and stands as the culmination of his philosophy on drugs and the societal and individual freedoms pertaining to their use—both medicinal and exploratory. Here he dives deep into the specific categories of drugs including stimulants, depressants, intoxicants, deliriants, and psychedelics; their chemical makeup and actions; the cultural history of tobacco and alcohol use; the mechanics of drug testing; and more, all with his signature humor and vast wisdom.
Featuring beautiful artwork drawn by Donna Torres and an illuminating afterword by David E. Presti, PhD, this second volume of The Nature of Drugs is the elegant and witty chemistry education so often missing from university classrooms even today.
Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin was one of the most pioneering chemists of the 20th century. He completed his PhD in biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1955 and in 1966 set up a home-based laboratory on his ranch in Lafayette, California, where he synthesized more than 200 novel psychoactive compounds. He is also the coauthor, with his co-researcher and wife, Ann, of the classic titles PIHKAL: A Chemical Love Story and TIHKAL: The Continuation.
The table of contents doesn’t start with “Chapter 1” since it picks up where Volume One left off:
Lecture 9: Stimulants I
Lecture 10: Stimulants II
Lecture 11: Stimulants III
Lecture 12: Depressants I
Lecture 13: Depressants II
Lecture 14: Depressants III
Lecture 15: Intoxicants
Lecture 16: Deliriants
Lecture 17: Peyote
Lecture 18: Psychedelics I
Lecture 19: Psychedelics II
Lecture 20: Psychedelics III
Lecture 21: Prescriptionals
Lecture 22: Cannabis
Lecture 23: Cannabis and LSD