PIHKAL (Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved) is a 1991 book by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin. It has two parts:
PIHKAL (an acronym for henethylamines I H ave K nown A nd L oved) is a landmark book co-authored by chemist Alexander Shulgin and his wife, writer Ann Shulgin. The book is widely regarded as the seminal text on the synthesis and subjective effects of psychedelic phenethylamines.
The narrative portion of the book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized digital distribution of the full text (including Part One) via file-sharing sites is illegal. Official copies, both physical and electronic, are available through legitimate publishers. pihkal pdf
These are 300+ MB scans of the original 1991 paperback. They are often crooked, have dark gutters (spine shadow), and are missing pages 12, 247, and 522 due to scanner errors. These are the worst experience for a reader.
PIHKAL: A Chemical Love Story Authors: Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin Published: 1991 Subject: Phenethylamines, Psychoactive Chemistry, Psychopharmacology PIHKAL (Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved) is
The book categorizes compounds using a numbering system (e.g., 2C-B, DOM).
The book is famously divided into two distinct sections, blending deeply personal narrative with rigorous organic chemistry. Part One: The Love Story (The Narrative) The narrative portion of the book is protected
, the story isn't just about the "recipes" in the back of the book; it’s about the two of them—Alice and Shura, their fictionalized selves—navigating the strange, neon landscapes of the mind.
In 1994, two years after PiHKAL's publication, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided Shulgin's lab and demanded he surrender his DEA license. A DEA spokesman explicitly linked the raid to the book, stating: "It is our opinion that those books are pretty much cookbooks on how to make illegal drugs. Agents tell me that in clandestine labs that they have raided, they have found copies of those books" . This event highlighted the immense tension between scientific exploration and the War on Drugs.
: While the book is legal to own as literature, the synthesis reactions described often involve regulated precursors and the creation of controlled substances. The DEA famously raided Shulgin's lab and revoked his research license shortly after the book's publication. Purchasing the Full Text