Aug 21, 2018
How was MDMA invented? Who came up with the idea to add a methyl group to MDA, the "hug drug" of the 1960s? Forget the irrelevant Merck patent of 1913. We found the person who "thought up" MDMA as a recreational drug. In 1975, on a hunch, Carl R. suggested to Sasha Shulgin that they methylate MDA. Later that Summer, they made a batch of MDMA together in a UC Berkeley laboratory, and Carl and his girlfriend were the first people on the planet (that we know of) to try it.
This is part 2 of the secret history of MDMA, and this is the first time Carl tells his story to the world.
Carl in 1975
Carl in 2018