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. PLUS TWO (++) Both the chronology and the nature of the action of a drug are unmistakably apparent. But you still have some choice as to whether you will accept the adventure, or rather just continue with your ordinary day’s plans (if you are an experienced researcher, that is). The effects can be allowed a predominant role, or they may be repressed and made secondary to other chosen activities. Shortly after gaining traction in the underground psychotherapy community, 2C-B became popular in the recreational drug scene. It was well-liked as a MDMA substitute in raves and club parties due to its minimal comedown and a clear, euphoric headspace. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are no negative health effects attributed to simply trying it by itself at low to moderate doses or using it very sparingly (although nothing can be completely guaranteed).

Spontaneous bodily sensations - The "body high" of 2C-B is reported to be one of the most complex among psychedelics, exhibiting aspects of MDMA, 2C-E, and LSD. This is first characterized by an intense soft, warm glow that grows over the body and is capable of becoming highly euphoric. It is perhaps the most well-known member of the 2C-x family, which are structurally related to the classical psychedelic mescaline. The mechanism of action is not fully known, although serotonin receptor binding activity is thought to be principally involved. so basically, this is a book by a chemist who has devoted his career to making and exploring psychedelics. what if you take the mescaline molecule and swap out this atom on the benzene ring? etc. etc. etc. each permutation basically gives rise to a cascade of other permutations. being that animal studies are useless for determining what psychedelic effects a human might experience from this or that chemical, he tries the compounds himself, going from a low dose upwards. if he detects a psychedelic effect and it doesn't seem terribly toxic, he then has a group of friends who take them as well and describe their experiences. the first part of the book is supposedly a novelization (presumably to provide plausible deniability in case any law enforcement agencies wanted to come after him), first in his voice, of his career as a psychedelic chemist, then in his second wife's voice, of her experience meeting him and joining him in testing his creations. While 2C-B has been reported as having the potential to produce transpersonal states, they are reported to occur less consistently or intensely than with classic psychedelics such as psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, LSD, or DMT. The Essential Amphetamines are what Shulgin describes as ten amphetamines that differ from natural products such as safrole or myristicin by an amine group ( PIHKAL Entry #157 TMA). The list consists of:

A Chemical Love Story

WARNING: Always start with lower doses due to differences between individual body weight, tolerance, metabolism, and personal sensitivity. See responsible use section. Our human bodies and our human brains have evolved in such a way that we cannot see the full scope of what our universe and our reality actually looks like. Instead, we see what we need to survive on the earth and what we need to procreate. That’s it. In the 1970s, it first saw use as a therapeutic aid by a small circle of American psychotherapists and was considered one of the best substances for this purpose due to its short duration, relative absence of side effects, and comparably mild nature. [4] Páleníček, T.; Fujáková, M.; Brunovský, M.; Horáček, J.; Gorman, I.; Balíková, M.; Rambousek, L.; Syslová, K.; Kačer, P.; Zach, P.; Bubeníková-Valešová, V.; Tylš, F.; Kubešová, A.; Puskarčíková, J.; Höschl, C. (2013). "Behavioral, neurochemical and pharmaco-EEG profiles of the psychedelic drug 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) in rats". Psychopharmacology. 225: 75–93. doi: 10.1007/s00213-012-2797-7. eISSN 1432-2072. ISSN 0033-3158. OCLC 2409222. PMID 22842791.

Germany: 2C-B is controlled under Anlage I BtMG (Narcotics Act, Schedule I) [30] as of January 31, 1993. [31] It is illegal to manufacture, possess, import, export, buy, sell, procure or dispense it without a license. [32] PIHKAL (Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved) is a unique book written by renowned psychopharmacologist Alexander Shulgin and his wife Ann Shulgin. This book gives details of their research and investigations into the use of psychedelic drugs for the study of the human mind, and is also a love story. phen-ethyl-amine \fen-'eth-al-a-,men\ n. [ phenylfr. 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. Introduction Finally, we have the precursor containing four oxygen substituents but with no methylenedioxy ring. A minor component of parsley oil. Precursor to tetramethoxy-amphetamine (TA) 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. 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.DISCLAIMER: PW's dosage information is gathered from users and resources for educational purposes only. It is not a recommendation and should be verified with other sources for accuracy. And... sorry, I just couldn't hold myself. Quotes really do a better job at reviewing themselves than I ever could. Schedule III". Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). Isomer Design . Retrieved October 10, 2020. 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: