Last month, amid the powerful current of ideas and breakthroughs flowing through the Psychedelic Science conference, I had the honor of attending one of the most moving events of the week: the celebration of Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin’s 100th birthday. It wasn’t just a party, it was a heartfelt tribute to the man who gave the world hundreds of psychoactive compounds, including MDMA, and helped lay the chemical and cultural groundwork for today’s medical psychedelic renaissance.

Organized as a fundraising event, the evening brought together researchers, psychonauts, cultural icons, and a generation of scientists who owe their work in part to Sasha’s brilliant curiosity. Alongside me was Malek Asfeer, our Creative Director at AJNA, who, like me, was visibly moved by the deep reverence in the room. This wasn’t a crowd romanticizing drugs. It was a room full of people celebrating rigorous inquiry, fearless experimentation, and an unwavering belief that molecules can help us better understand ourselves and heal our collective wounds.

Speakers shared personal stories about Sasha and his wife, Ann, who co-authored PIHKAL and TIHKAL—texts that have become cornerstones for anyone studying psychoactive substances. They discussed Sasha’s garage lab, his handwritten notes, and how he viewed chemistry as a language to speak with the soul.

As someone working to bring botanical and psychedelic compounds through the strict and structured process of FDA approval, I often think about Sasha’s legacy. He believed in personal freedom and scientific exploration at a time when both were under threat. And while AJNA operates within a pharmaceutical framework, we hold the same principle close: that healing requires courage, and progress begins with curiosity.

This fundraiser wasn’t just about raising money. It was a reminder that the psychedelic movement is built on the shoulders of pioneers—outsiders, rebels, and scientists like Sasha—who asked questions the world wasn’t ready to answer. But here we are, a hundred years after his birth, standing on a stage that wouldn’t exist without him.

To the Shulgin family: thank you for sharing Sasha with the world. To MAPS: thank you for carrying his legacy forward. And to all of us working in this space: let’s build something worthy of the vision he sparked.

Happy 100th, Sasha. Your molecules are still talking. And we’re still listening.

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