The Sasha Shulgin Legacy to Artistry Laboratory Glass Project

Before the DEA emergency-scheduled MDMA, and before it was called Ecstasy, a brilliant, intrepid chemist named Sasha synthesized MDMA in his laboratory. Sasha initially re-synthesized MDMA (Methyl-MDA, as he called it at the time) at Dow Labs in August of 1965, and he didn’t really know the implications of what he had. He left Dow shortly thereafter, creating his lab in Lafayette in 1966. In 1971, a friend told him about a compound that had been making the rounds in the underground – MDA. In April, he synthesized MDA, followed by its formulation to MDMA.

Sasha gave the world’s first batches of MDMA away for free through a network of psychotherapists after recognizing its profound healing potential. Therapists found the substance to be a potent adjunct to trauma therapy and couples therapy by accelerating the healing process, reducing fear, enhancing feelings of empathy, and helping people to recall and process traumatic memories.

MDMA’s effectiveness in therapy created curiosity about its use in other settings, and it quickly became a staple in nightclubs. Electronic music exploded and the underground rave scene emerged.

In 1998, DanceSafe was born as a response to the rave scene’s public health needs in the wake of the War on Drugs. Soon after MDMA spilled into dance music communities, there were deaths and hospitalizations connected to contaminated drug mixtures sold as Ecstasy — and dehydration or overhydration — not pure MDMA. Lawmakers chose punishment over safety, and DanceSafe has helped fill the gap ever since.

When the RAVE Act was signed into law in 2003, people who attended and hosted parties where MDMA might be used were now vulnerable to heavy prosecution. In fact, any party that took basic health and safety precautions for its patrons, even vaguely implying that illicit drugs might be used on the premises, was at risk of federal charges. But even the threat of incarceration couldn’t stop the spread of MDMA or other psychoactives.

DanceSafe was one of the first harm reduction organizations to serve nightlife. Once solely focused on electronic dance music communities, DanceSafe now services music festivals and events of all kinds. Dedicated volunteers distribute earplugs, educational literature, hydration packs, condoms, and tools and resources for overdose prevention and safer drug use.

DanceSafe was the nation’s first provider of drug checking reagents. Since the late 90s, party scenes and music festivals have gradually become safer and more accepted. The organization has played an undeniable role in that cultural shift. Today, DanceSafe is still one of the foremost providers of harm reduction education and supplies in the US.

The US is on the precipice of FDA-approval for MDMA, a medicine that is only here because of Sasha, Ann, and a network of brave care providers who shared MDMA with the world and asked for nothing in return. For nearly three decades, DanceSafe has helped keep safe the communities that use MDMA and other psychedelics in the absence of a safer, regulated supply.