Psychedelics may not be the first thing you think of upon hearing the name Stanislav Grof. However, Grof’s association with Sasha Shulgin should come as no surprise considering that this renowned psychiatrist has spent more than 50 years researching the healing and transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness. Grof is best known as a founding father of transpersonal psychology, which is defined as “the study of humanity’s highest potential, and with the recognition, understanding, and realization of unitive, spiritual, and transcendent states of consciousness" (Lajoie, D. H. and Shapiro, S. I. “Definitions of Transpersonal Psychology: The First...

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New editions are an opportunity to correct minor errors or typos and set the record straight on small issues. We are deeply indebted to Isomer Design for their careful errata in the chemistry sections of both PiHKAL and TiHKAL, which they graciously allowed us to include in the new memorial edition. These were conducted with great care—for example, mistakes are crossed out and corrections placed in line, so that alterations are clear. The result is much like a well-maintained lab notebook. Thank you, Isomer Design! 

One other thoughtful emendation came from Jon Hanna, who pointed out that “The Shulgin Scale” for evaluating the potency of new psychoactive drugs was...

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How did I get here?

The last thing I remember, I was saying that “someone” should put together a memorial edition of Ann and Sasha’s works PiHKAL and TiHKAL as a benefit for them, like an art retrospective or academic festschrift. Perhaps I got too specific when I suggested that they use photos from Sasha’s enormous archives or that people would love to see photos of his laboratory, or when I offhandedly suggested that surely the psychedelic luminaries of his generation would be happy to contribute.

If you say “someone” should do something too many times, people will start assuming you’re going to do it yourself. And so I find myself here two years later with...

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Transform Press is very fortunate to be working with a talented, dedicated artist and graphic designer named Vibrata Chromodoris. Vibrata brings a unique skill set, vision, and familiarity with the psychedelic community that is a perfect fit for our mission to preserve and publish the Shulgins’ legacy of research and to inspire societal transformation. We hope that by sharing the following interview with Vibrata you will join in our excitement and enthusiasm for her contributions to our enterprise.

Wendy: Hi, Vibrata. Thanks for joining us. Can you please explain your role at Transform Press?
Vibrata: Yes. Thank you, Wendy. First, I designed the Transform Press website....

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Transform Press is pleased to offer a second sneak peek at new bonus material that will be published in the forthcoming PiHKAL / TiHKAL memorial edition. Last month we posted photos of Ann and Sasha in their earlier days. Now we have an excerpt from one of the essays written exclusively for this edition.

One thing that has stood out to me as I have read the reminiscences of so many people who loved Sasha—including the essay excerpted below—is the frequent mention of his unwavering personal morality.

While most of Sasha’s writing is full of a sort of whimsy, I think the quiet firmness of his political and moral opinions is clear. For example, in Appendix B of TiHKAL...

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Transform Press’s first publication of 2016 should be an exciting event for Shulgin readers, both new and old. It will be a special four-volume memorial edition of PiHKAL and TiHKAL, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the original publication of PiHKAL. This special edition will include the original text of both books plus new bonus material. Leading up to the publication, we will post excerpts of both original and new material here on the Transform Press website.

Both books were originally labeled as fiction. However, the truth is that they are mostly factual; they tell a true story, but almost all names have been changed, and (using one of my favorite movie credit...

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As editor of the upcoming memorial edition of Sasha and Ann Shulgin’s books, PiHKAL and TiHKAL, I’m excited to offer you sneak peeks at some of the new bonus material that will be exclusive to this edition. To create it, we reached out to dozens of students, friends, and luminaries of psychedelic history to share their experiences with Sasha in honor of his recent passing. In addition to these essays of remembrance, we’ve amassed hundreds of rarely-seen photographs.

One of the treats about putting this edition together has been seeing and choosing images of Ann and Sasha in their earlier days—the books mostly focus on their later lives, after each had already been...

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Twenty sixteen is shaping up to be an exciting year for Transform Press. Not only have we become a separate sister organization of the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute (ASRI) and launched this new website, but we are planning to publish three new books.

Transform Press was created in 1991 after my mother and stepfather, Ann and Alexander (“Sasha”) Shulgin, wrote PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. When they looked for someone to publish it, they found it was too controversial and nobody would pick it up. There was so much fear about publishing such a book, one that contained 179 recipes for psychoactive compounds. So, with the help of some friends, they created their own...

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As we begin this new year of 2016, I would like to share with you some exciting developments at the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute (ASRI) and Transform Press. For a few years now, ASRI and Transform Press have been growing into distinct organizations, and I am pleased to announce that they are now officially separate sister institutions. My daughter Wendy Tucker, who worked closely with Sasha at Transform Press for many years, is now the legal owner of that enterprise and is moving forward with her own vision for its development. ASRI is helmed by Paul Daley, Scott Bodarky, and Tania Manning, who are continuing Sasha’s research...

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National Geographic has made an hour-long special about Sasha entitled “The Love Drug.” The episode is part of its I Am Rebel series and will air this Sunday, June 19th, at 9 pm on the National Geographic Channel.
The program producers have sensationalized Sasha’s peripheral encounters with chemical warfare specialists from Edgewood Arsenal and his interactions with the DEA, which is their editorial style. Those who know Sasha and his work will recognize where there has been some embellishing. While not the same caliber of film as Dirty Pictures, the sections on Sasha’s research into MDMA and its benefits in psychotherapy are quite well done and end the program...

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