longtailedhermit's Journal: Sasha Shulgin suffers a stroke

This is sad news, and such a genius should not be short on money. And this is a reason why Jersey Shore is a travesty - they do not have money problems while a person who played a heavy influence on the development of North American and European popular culture and society can't afford to pay for medical treatment.

Alexander Shulgin, who re-synthesised MDMA (ecstasy), a drug that fuelled the 1980s acid house dance craze. Photograph: Tim Coleman/Rex Features

Alexander Shulgin, the "godfather of ecstasy" who became famous for discovering and experimenting with a host of psychoactive compounds, has suffered a stroke.

His wife, Ann Shulgin, confirmed today that the 85-year-old was in hospital in San Francisco. "Sasha had a mild stroke over [last] weekend and is still in the hospital, where they are treating him. He will be undergoing speech therapy for a while," she said.

Shulgin, a pharmacologist and psychedelic drug pioneer, has been demonised by anti-drug campaigners but also hailed as a counter-culture hero by many more. His work has covered the synthesis of hundreds of psychoactive compounds and his research was published in the 1990s in two books, TiHkal and PiHKAL, which he wrote with his wife. ....
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/23/godfather-ecstasy-alexander-shulgin-stroke

My name is Mike Power and I wrote that Guardian article posted above.

I figured it would be good to get the story out as widely as possible, and checked with friends and contacts of Shulgin before I wrote it.

I also wanted to give Ann a chance to respond, in mainstream media, to the inevitable speculation that her husband's use of psychedelics had caused his stroke.

She was happy to hear that so many people care about her husband.

The best thing anyone can do to help is to give money, and to circulate this link on their social media pages.

http://shulgin.chipin.com/help-sasha-shulgin

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-S...=wall&filter=1

(Especially the first one as the facebook Wall is getting crowded and the appeal info is slipping down the page).

Tweet and retweet using the hastag #helpshulgin

With a little work, the Shulgins' financial problems can be solved, painlessly, in days.

It is possible nowadays to reach hundreds of thousands, millions of people in seconds. A few dollars off even just half of those people could amount to an awful lot.

Propagate.