This is custom glass art from the laboratory of Sasha Shulgin, the chemist who gave us MDMA and a host of other psychoactive compounds.
It’s for sale right now as part of a fundraiser for MAPS, the Multi-disciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which is the outfit behind all sorts of interesting and valuable research into the stuff that the War on Drugs makes difficult to study. Things like using MDMA to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
So, unlike nearly everything else I’ve posted in this Science Art file, this piece is something you could own. It’s being auctioned on eBay with an opening bid of $1,725. And it certainly is pretty.
Here’s what they say about it:
This is real glassware from the laboratory of legendary chemist Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin. Sasha is credited with the popularization of MDMA in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially for psychopharmaceutical use and the treatment of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. In subsequent years, Shulgin discovered, synthesized, and bioassayed over 230 psychoactive compounds. In 1991 and 1997, he and his wife Ann Shulgin authored the books PiHKAL and TiHKAL on the topic of psychoactive drugs. Shulgin discovered many noteworthy phenethylamines including the 2C* family of which 2C-T-2, 2C-T-7, 2C-E, 2C-I, and 2C-B are most well known. Additionally, Shulgin performed seminal work into the descriptive synthesis of compounds based on the organic compound tryptamine.
This one of a kind piece of glassware is from the same laboratory where Sasha synthesized MDMA and a number of other psychedelic compounds. Dr. Shulgin worked as a consultant to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency which allowed him to possess and synthesize these otherwise illicit drugs in a small lab behind his house in California. This rare item does come with a certificate of authenticity. Dr. Shulgin donated a limited amount of 50 pieces to MAPS to sell to fund MDMA psychotherapy research.
MAPS commissioned glass artist Logan MacSporran from Asheville, NC to create a limited number of one-of-a-kind glass sculptures to display these rare pieces glassware. This specific combination of laboratory glassware and Shulgin laboratory glass- entitled “Candy Dish”- is easily one of the most visually stunning pieces of psychedelic history in existence. “Candy Dish” measures 11″ x 8″ in size.