Ann Shulgin was an author and therapist who worked with her late husband, Alexander Shulgin, to pioneer the use of psychedelic drugs in therapy.
- Died: July 9, 2022 (Who else died on July 9?)
- Details of death: Died at her home in the San Francisco area at the age of 91.
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Her work with psychedelics
A native of New Zealand, Shulgin worked as an artist and a medical transcriber before beginning her study of psychedelics. It was after she met chemist Alexander Shulgin and married him in 1981 that she began incorporating psychedelic drugs into therapy work. These drugs included MDMA – commonly known as ecstasy – before it was banned in the United States. Shulgin’s husband invented other psychedelics, which she was able to use in therapy while they were legal. One of her focuses was treating veterans with PTSD, with whom she experienced some promising breakthroughs. The couple wrote two books, “PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story” and “TiHKAL: The Continuation,” both structured as fictionalized autobiographies with descriptions of psychedelic compounds. In 1991, the Shulgins co-founded Transform Press to publish their own work.
Notable quote
“I think that psychedelics are wonderful. But they are also not for everyone. …No human being is limited to one means of self-discovery. Use psychedelics only if you are quite sure that they are your path.” —from a 2007 interview for the Women’s Visionary Congress
Tributes to Ann Shulgin
Full obituary: The Seattle Times
