(review) by in10se Wed Nov 24 2004 at 17:10:10

TiHKAL: The Continuation
by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin

tryptamine \ 'trip-ta-,men \ n. [tryptophan fr. tryptic, fr. trypsin, fr. Gk. tryein, to wear down (from its occurrence in pancreatic juice as a proteolytic enzyme) + amine fr. NL ammonia]

1: A naturally occurring compound found in both the animal and plant kingdoms. It is an endogenous component of the human brain.
2: Any of a series of compounds containing the tryptamine skeleton, and modified by chemical constituents at appropriate positions in the molecule.

TiHKAL (Tryptamines i Have Known And Loved) is the continuation of the Shulgins' earlier book, PiHKAL (Phenethylamines i Have Known And Loved). Let's get right to it - these books are about drugs and their potential positive uses. Drugs used not simply for entertainment and recreational properties (though that is a nice side effect), but for their mind expanding and self discovering properties. Any serious psychonaut will want to put this book on their reading list.

While I am not qualified to provide you with a chemistry lesson, the tryptamines discussed in this book differ from the phenethylamines in that the carbon-carbon-nitrogen chain is attached to an indole group instead of a phenyl group. Compounds/drugs that you may recognize that fall in to the tryptamine category include serotonin, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT.

TiHKAL is divided into two parts. The first part is a sort of storytelling narrative written in the two distinct voices of "Alice" and "Shura". It is written as fiction, but the reader is assumed to understand that these are real accounts where the names have been changed to protect the innocent1 TiHKAL is less of a "love story" than PiHKAL, and reads more like a series of memoirs and essays.

The second part of the book contains recipes, dosages, lab notes, trip reports, and reflections on the use of over 50 specific tryptamines. Several of the compounds described are common recreational drugs, but several were created specifically for experimentation by Alex Shulgin who just happens to be a well known chemist. While the Shulgins obviously take a pro-drug stance with this book, they are not afraid to tell you of their negative experiences, nor is everything described is a dry scientific language. Descriptions such as "weird-ass shit" are not uncommon, and quick notes such as "Never again." are seen. Bad side effects such as intense tinnitus, vomiting thick bilious mucus, and blackouts are just as common as the positive effects of euphoria, opening doors to the psyche, altered states, and pleasant visions.

The first half of the book is kept under strict copyright, however part 2 has been officially released for non-commercial use by the authors under the conditions described below. Each compound from part two will be separately hardlinked and noded. Unlike the hardlinks in the PiHKAL node, I have chosen to hardlink the common abbreviation or common name rather than the long chemical name. I believe this is friendlier to E2 noders and the search box. I mean, honestly, who is going to look for melatonin under n-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine?

Copyright Notice

The Copyright for Part 1 of TiHKAL has been reserved in all forms and it may not be distributed. Part 2 of TiHKAL may be distributed for non-commercial reproduction provided that this notice, the cautionary notice and the ordering information are retained.

Cautionary Note - Please read before proceeding

I would like to take a moment to reiterate that at the present time restrictive laws are in force in the United States and it is very difficult for researchers to abide by the regulations which govern efforts to obtain legal approval to do work with these compounds in human beings..... No one who is lacking legal authorization should attempt the synthesis of any of the compounds described in these files, with the intent to give them to man. To do so is to risk legal action which might lead to the tragic ruination of a life. It should also be noted that any person anywhere who experiments on himself, or on another human being, with any of the drugs described herein, without being familiar with that drug's action and aware of the physical and/or mental disturbance or harm it might cause, is acting irresponsibly and immorally, whether or not he is doing so within the bounds of the law.

Ordering Information

If you are seriously interested in the chemistry contained in these files, you can order the books TIHKAL: The Continuation, and PIHKAL: A Chemical Love Story by Ann and Alexander Shulgin. These books are available from:

Transform Press
P.O. Box 13675
Berkeley, CA 94712
PHONE: 925-934-2675
FAX: 925-934-5999

Call or write to get ordering information2.

Key to Tryptamine Abbreviations

Index to the Tryptamines

NOTE TO READERS: Not all of these substances have been noded yet. Please be patient while I write them up and format them.

  1. AL-LAD - 6-Allyl-N,N-diethyl-NL
  2. DBT - N,N-Dibutyl-T
  3. DET - N,N-Diethyl-T (diethyltryptamine)
  4. DIPT - N,N-Diisopropyl-T
  5. α,O-DMS - 5-Methyoxy-alpha-methyl-T
  6. DMT - N,N-Dimethyl-T
  7. 2,α-DMT - 2,alpha-Dimethyl-T
  8. α,N-DMT - alpha,N-Dimethyl-T
  9. DPT - N,N-Dipropyl-T (dipropyltryptamine)
  10. EIPT - N-Ethyl-N-isopropyl-T (ethylisopropyltryptamine)
  11. α-ET - alpha-Ethyl-T
  12. ETH-LAD - 6,N,N-Triethyl-NL
  13. Harmaline - 3,4-Dihydro-7-methoxy-1-methyl-C
  14. Harmine - 7-Methyoxy-1-methyl-C
  15. 4-HO-DBT - N,N-Dibutyl-4-hydroxy-T
  16. 4-HO-DET - N,N-Diethyl-4-hydroxy-T
  17. 4-HO-DIPT - N,N-Diisopropyl-4-hydroxy-T
  18. 4-HO-DMT - N,N-Dimethyl-4-hydroxy-T
  19. 5-HO-DMT - N,N-Dimethyl-5-hydroxy-T
  20. 4-HO-DPT - N,N-Dipropyl-4-hydroxy-T
  21. 4-HO-MET - N-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-N-methyl-T
  22. 4-HO-MIPT - 4-Hydroxy-N-isopropyl-N-methyl-T
  23. 4-HO-MPT - 4-Hydroxy-N-methyl-N-propyl-T
  24. 4-HO-pyr-T - 4-Hydroxy-N,N-tetramethylene-T
  25. Ibogaine - A complexly substituted-T
  26. LSD - N,N-Diethyl-L
  27. MBT - N-Butyl-N-methyl-T
  28. 4,5-MDO-DIPT - N,N-Diisopropyl-4,5-methylenedioxy-T
  29. 5,6-MDO-DIPT - N,N-Diisopropyl-5,6-methylenedioxy-T
  30. 4,5-MDO-DMT - N,N-Dimethyl-4,5-methylenedioxy-T
  31. 5,6-MDO-DMT - N,N-Dimethyl-5,6-methylenedioxy-T
  32. 5,6-MDO-MIPT - N-Isopropyl-N-methyl-5,6-methylenedioxy-T
  33. 2-Me-DET - N,N-Diethyl-2-methyl-T
  34. 2-Me-DMT - 2,N,N-Trimethyl-T
  35. Melatonin - N-Acetyl-5-methoxy-T
  36. 5-MeO-DET - N,N-Diethyl-5-methoxy-T
  37. 5-MeO-DIPT - N,N-Diisopropyl-5-methoxy-T
  38. 5-MeO-DMT - 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyl-T
  39. 4-MeO-MIPT - N-Isopropyl-4-methoxy-N-methyl-T
  40. 5-MeO-MIPT - N-Isopropyl-5-methoxy-N-methyl-T
  41. 5,6-MeO-MIPT - 5,6-Dimethoxy-N-isopropyl-N-methyl-T
  42. 5-MeO-NMT - 5-Methoxy-N-methyl-T
  43. 5-MeO-pyr-T - 5-Methoxy-N,N-tetramethylene-T
  44. 6-MeO-THH - 6-Methoxy-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-C
  45. 5-MeO-TMT - 5-Methoxy-2,N,N-trimethyl-T
  46. 5-MeS-DMT - N,N-Dimethyl-5-methylthio-T
  47. MIPT - N-Isopropyl-N-methyl-T
  48. α-MT - alpha-Methyl-T
  49. NET - N-Ethyl-T
  50. NMT - N-Methyl-T
  51. PRO-LAD - 6-Propyl-NL
  52. pyr-T - N,N-Tetramethylene-T
  53. T - Tryptamine
  54. Tetrahydroharmine - 7-Methoxy-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-C
  55. α,N,O-TMS - alpha,N-Dimethyl-5-methoxy-T

1 It should be noted that Alexander's nickname is Sasha, so the characters are Alice = Ann and Shura = Sasha. Interesting note: Sasha isn't some random name - it is the Russian's abbreviation for the name Alexander (much like Alex is used in other parts of the world).

2 The book is commonly available at other bookstores including Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0963009699/

CST Approved

I like it! 2 C!s