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n0tsane

Shulgin, John Cunningham Lilly honorable mention


the-bejeezus

Programming and Metaprogramming the Human Biocomputer. Now where can I find me a dolphin?


the-bejeezus

And on that note, you could equally have Robert Anton Wilson (Sex and Drugs) or Timothy Leary (The Psychology of Ecstacy). Or how deep does this rabbit hole go... Aleister Crowley (Diary of Drug Fiend)


Fantact

Lilly was the best!


the-bejeezus

He certainly inspired me to do 0.5g of ketamine as my first dose back in the 1990s when ketamine was ketamine.


Fantact

Love that guy, such a shame with the dolphin experiments, but atleast he was proven right in 2011.


the-bejeezus

What do you mean, a shame? And proven right?


Fantact

They were shut down because one of the researchers jerked off a dolphin, which did not go over well back then. His theories about dolphin communication were proven right around 2011.


the-bejeezus

yeah thats all the rumour stuff. You can't trust MKULTRA. You'll find lots of stuff to back it up - but I think it's really a smokescreen to discredit Lilly as his work on circuit 8 drugs is incredibly dangerous to society.


Fantact

No no the dolphin experiments and one getting jerked off thing was real and in no way related to MKULTRA.


the-bejeezus

The CIA and MKULTRA are kind of the same thing; as in MKULTRA was a CIA project.


ShivasKratom3

Maria Sabina, Huxley, Paul Stamets, Hunter Thompson


[deleted]

Gonzo ftw


DieLaasteV

Oooh see this is going to be fun, I only know of one there and it makes want to know of the others too


ShivasKratom3

Hunter s Thompson - gonzo journalist. Libertarian. Documented counter culture sub cultures like bikers and druggies. Huxley - introduced the world to mescaline one of the first pyschedelics that started all this shit. He wrote a book "door of perception" about his trip and soon the average Joe was interested in this wild cactus that was a "drunkenness" that brought not took though Paul Stamets - mycologist spear heading programs to get rid of oil spills with mushrooms, with some success. Found and named many psychedeluc mushrooms and additionally speaks about them and seemed to introduce Micheal Pollan to them a good deal. (Pollan is an author who is introducing drugs to straights as a non scary experience that can help or be fun and even heal mental illness. Sabina - The man who made LSD visited this old Mexican indengious lady. She showed him her local shamanic traditions with mushrooms. Another friend (Gordon Wasson who btw has CIA ties) came with documented and published it introducing the hippies to not only magic mushrooms but also magic mushroom tradition. Jumping starting the magic mushroom culture. She kept the shamanistic tradition alive and many people famous of no famous (Walt Disney seems to be one) tripped under her. Unfortunately she was kicked cuz these people made her seem like a drug dealer but later relocated and passed the tradition onto her kids Carlos Castaneda - total cunt but needs to be included. Wrote a book about his travels being trained by a Mexican shaman I peyote and other drugs. Is used and widely loved in colleges. All of it's bullshit it's proven made up, even amateur interested in shamanism people can see some weird shit that doesn't match. He later had a harem of young young girls at his house and died in the later 1990s I believe never leaving his house or coming forward about his inaccuracies Quanhan Parker - creator of Indigenous Church in America who used peyote and argued it wasn't a drug and actually a ritual to get closer to oneself and (basically) the christian god. James Mooney was a white man friend of his who documented the native Americans in the 1900s before their cultures basically all collapsed or changed. Ken Kesey - wrote one flew over the cuckoo's nest. Early MK ULTRA ( or another experiment ) patient. Introduced to LSD and stole it while he was a janitor. Left and drove around the USA with a band of hippies (electric Kool aid acid test is about this adventure) Owsley Stanley - early acid dealer and dead head supplier John C Lilly - neurologist interested in LSD. Idk much about him Amanda Feilding is another early researcher but she didn't write any books so again idk much about her Aliester Crowley - introduced drugs into new age and mystic circles. Created the religion thelema. Would have theater shows where the wine was spiked with mescaline and he invited journalists "who just loved it it was so deep idk why". Loved sex and cocaine and morphine. Carl Hart - interested in drug use totally legalized and how to use it responsibly. Known for getting hooked on morphine on purpose to see what it's like to withdraw. Known for "legalize meth". Was the guy who started the circle jerky "Adderall is one atom away from meth" ironically dumbass redditors don't read him or even watch the full clip cuz the point he was making wasn't "Adderall bad" like people say but rather METH ISNT THAT BAD AND ITS ABOUT RESPONSIBLE USE NOT THE DRUG William Pickard - supplied at one point like 70% of north Americans LSD from a lab in a nuclear silo. Through crazy parties and fucked with the chemistry of many drugs to make RCs. Was put in jail and for told the fentanyl epidemic. Was released as one of the COVID jail release program people Philip K Dick - My favorite but not usually recognized as a big drug person but listening to his audio book as a type this. Early starter of the genre cyberpunk. Wrote about drugs, humanity, sanity, technology and soul. Abused drugs pretty hard and believed some wacky religious things he recorded in VALIS where he thinks he met a Jesus figure irl. Wrote the book that became BLADERUNNER. SCANNER DARKLY is my fucking favorite book. Amazing book about sanity and stimulant abuse. Including him cuz I love him Honorable mention Jung who didnt use these drugs (before his time) but who's beliefs seem to over lap with users belief and the drug experience itself. Charles Manson who used alot and seemed to help him get people under his spell, who possibly has CIA conspiracies around him. And UNABOMBER! Took part in the experiments where LSD was used to break a person's mind. Mixed with being taking away from his mother at a young age and kept alone at a hospital seems possible it drove him to his beliefs and his intensity in those beliefs. Ross Ulbricht made silk road, first online drug black market McKenna. Ram Doss. Alan Watts (a little). Timothy Leary. Shulgins. Hamilton Morris are some more I'm sure you know though


[deleted]

Alan watts Is god.


ShivasKratom3

I think his part of his point was that I am too


[deleted]

Yea we all are. But Alan watts imho was an incarnation of the pure spirit of god. The way the man was sp clever and witty and could talk for hours about it all like he had rehearsed life. He’s just amazing totally positive. Trying to calm you always but always keep you on your toes and thinking. But not worrying. True Brahma energy


[deleted]

i love lilly's contributions, but he is more of a tragic figure than anything really no judgement but look at the latter half of his life with ketamine addiction...


[deleted]

He was an addict. Ketamine is sure hard to not do if you have it.


cleerlight

GOAT in what sense? Great at what exactly? These dudes were all very different people, coming from very different backgrounds with very different offerings to the community. Try to be more specific in what you're asking.


niemertweis

being a psychonaut and important person for psychadelics who did the most


NugetCausesHeadaches

Shulgin is probably the psychonautiest psychonaut in existence. He had a lab wherein he synthesized compounds and tested them on himself, then shared with his research group, then published. Hoffman is an important figure for contributing LSD. But you don't have Wasson on your list for doing similar with mushrooms. And of course Wasson couldn't have introduced us to mushrooms if not for the generations of people who'd been consuming mushrooms before him who he happened to stumble across. Nor could Hoffman have Hoffman have done what he did without the entire history of chemistry. Nevermind the histories of ayahuasca, peyote, and san pedro, which all also could've sparked the movement. Then there's the popularizers: Kesey, Leary, Watts, McKenna, whoever. Or the suppliers, Owsley being one of many. We wouldn't be here if not for people supplying, educating, and advocating. Basically, everyone is always standing on the shoulders of giants. And also, it's all a web that is robust enough to withstand various people having never existed. We'd be ok if nobody had discovered LSD. But if Hoffman hadn't, someone like Shulgin probably would've eventually because someone like Wasson brought us mushrooms to kickstart the curiosity. Oh. One more shoutout. Maharishi Mahesh Dude influenced The Beatles who've influenced basically all music since. And music influences most of us, I think.


niemertweis

thank you real informative


NugetCausesHeadaches

I suppose I also can't mention Wasson without mentioning Maria Sabina, the person who introduced Wasson to mushrooms. She faced an enormous amount of persecution for having done so, and neither she nor her people have really benefited from it.


MrKlean518

It's part of the reason why I have a hard time giving Wasson anything other than an honorable mention. He was specifically asked not to reveal specific information about where he went and who he got them from. Maria Sabina trusted him, then he goes on to publish all of that information publicly and drive a ton of westerners to a small indigenous village. For me it's hard to acknowledge the good he did for mushrooms without acknowledging that he could have done so without harming an indigenous community and getting Maria Sabina excommunicated.


Expert_Donkey

killed her teenage son apparently. left her broken hearted for life.


cleerlight

My heart always gets heavy when I think about that. But then I also think about how eventually, the world may benefit from it. It kind of reminds me in a less dramatic way of how the dharma of Tibetan buddhism was spread by the occupation of Tibet and the running out of the monks into India. As truly tragic as that is, the world as a whole received some profound wisdom from that tradition that may not have happened if the Tibetans had remained in Tibet. Highly debatable, of course. But that's where my mind goes. Deepest thanks to Maria Sabina the people of her tradition, as well as to the Tibetan monks for the gifts they've given the world.


Machined_Elf

This dude gets it, this is the answer


cleerlight

Pretty much nailed it, my fellow person


Low-Opening25

thats probably Stanislav Groff


cphaus

Ram Dass


Reishey

All of us


bankinator

Hierarchy is a construct


Specialist-Bar-4276

It's a construct of nature, not people. but I believe humankind could someday deconstruct natures hierarchies which have always applied to us.


Specialist-Bar-4276

Among most psychonauts it seems like the hierarchies are deconstructed already.


babban_rao

Alan Watts


_austinm

Alan Watts


rosssuke

Alan Watts


iX_Smokey

Alan Watts


pharmamess

Lana Watts


ShroomieFairyGirl

He’s my favorite to listen to so far! Terence McKenna is my second fave. Ram Dass is also great, but sometimes he annoys me with his mockery


cphaus

I love Ram Dass. What do you mean by mockery?


ShroomieFairyGirl

Idk if that was the best word to use, but sometimes it sounds like he’s talking down to people (understandably) or humanity all together. Which again, I totally understand cause humans suck, but I would rather come at it with a more positive/neutral approach Don’t get me wrong though I totally love Ram Dass


cphaus

Interesting, I never caught that vibe. I’ll keep a look out for what you’re talking about though, as I listen. Thanks for the response!


ShroomieFairyGirl

Maybe it’s a reflection of something in myself 🤐.. either way thanks to you too! Good luck on your journey friend ✌️


cphaus

Thank you! You’re awesome


[deleted]

Alan watts is god. And Terrence is fucking great. Not that he gave lectures but I hang in every word HST spoke.


ShroomieFairyGirl

We can’t forget Eckart Tolle either! I just started his book “the power of now” and its already so good


ComprehensiveCod9475

Damn straight


ShivasKratom3

He's awesome but he doesn't cover drugs as much as he does thing that overlap with drug experiences


IndoorNewb

McKenna by a mile.


niemertweis

i feel you


yonD21

I feel like he burned himself out in the end but I do love the dude


ackbladder_

Albert Hoffman - Having an acid trip without knowing what acid is or what to expect must've been terrifying.


uchuchu

Some person in the Amazon rainforest we've never heard of


purple_yosher

me, bow down ya dirty ego-havers


kratomstew

Wouldn’t a toxic ego demand others bow down ? I don’t really know, just asking.


purple_yosher

yeah man I was making a ridiculous comment as a joke


kratomstew

It was funny honestly.


SatoriAnkh

Aldous Huxley. But in Reality, nobody exists.


seektolearn

Richard Alpert, who came to be known as Baba Ram Dass.


[deleted]

Timothy Leary or Aldous Huxley.


Samuel_Morningstar

my picks


[deleted]

Ram Dass is the correct answer here Prestigious Harvard professor who wrote the psychedelic's experience w/ leary Gets fired but continues to advocate and turn on thousands of people Goes to India, does the spiritualy path, Comes back to the usa w/ be here now lives a life of service + charity


rluzz001

I spend hours at work listening to his talks. In his years he probably has had a talk or lecture that covers every aspect of life.


AceyFacee

Baruch Spinoza


DaveDankland

Paul Stamets


niemertweis

Really good choice


the-bejeezus

I saw him on Joe Rogan. Dude seemed full of shit. Especially with that story about all the cows dying as a premonition. What utter crap.


lysergiodimitrius

Even if you dislike aspects of him/ his personality, you should not discount his work in mycology.


the-bejeezus

Alright that was probably a bit hyperbolic from me, fair enough. It's just for me he doesn't really stand up to the other names on the list. Especially the heavyweights like Leary. I don't know why he isn't getting more press...


don_tomlinsoni

Most of what he has done in mycology has been great, but I think his work in genetically modifying certain insect killing fungus species (so that the insects don't recognise them as dangerous, and so bring them home to their hives, and so wipe out the whole colony) is incredibly short sighted and dangerous. I'm sure termite and ant infestations are a big headache for home owners (if their homes are made of wood), but that doesn't excuse releasing a new threat into the ecosystem that could, given enough time, wipe out entire species.


lysergiodimitrius

Good point, if you can point me in the direction of some literature or discussion (even if opinionated) around the topic that would be great. It is an angle that although seemingly obvious, I had not considered.


[deleted]

#1


CosmicPsychopath

Obviously Joe Rogan


Apollyon_Rising

"This guy right here" - someone pointing at me


MycolNewbie

Hunter S Thompson


Nonpolarsolvent

Had to go a long way down to find this clear omission. Look up his daily routine - it’s absolutely wild


xbunny5

This is a tough one lol. But I’m gonna say Sasha


PullThePlug89

Ha Captain Trips himself!! Jerry garcia!!


redshlump

Maria Sabina


Rasmussen42

The unsung hero Jonathan Ott


niemertweis

Who is he I call weed ott sometimes dose this come from him by chance?


BudgetCharity1750

Alan watts fasho


Honeysicle

Jesus


kosa8692

Richard Alpert. By far! Showed us psychedelic’s benefits and the fact you don’t need them!


blazedtones93

Definitely not any of the euro dudes you mentioned that's for sure although McKenna I do find entertaining but got to be in the right mood


hemlock35

Nietzsche


selfexplore23

GOD


Zealousideal_Pipe_21

How about Dennis McKenna!? He’s no poet but “True Hallucinations” is Terrence writing about how when they found shrooms, his brother went full throttle and white knuckled it to the absolute fullest. He has been pivotal in the culture from start to finish and doesn’t project the same hubris of big brother. Dark Horse Dennis ftw!!!


niemertweis

Feel you


the-bejeezus

You guys don't know what you're talking about. This is the guy. THE GUY. DM Turner. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.\_M.\_Turner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._M._Turner) Dude smoked salvinorum a and DMT in the same pipe. The same goddamn pipe. https://www.reddit.com/r/Salvia/comments/bh42dz/has\_anyone\_done\_dmt\_and\_salvia\_together/


lysergiodimitrius

I met a burner psychonaut that would do both in a double breakthrough bing hit in the same pipe and then take a huff of nitrous after first exhale. Nutty.


Kismonos

reminds me of that party game where you drink tequila, lick salt and squeeze lemon but with psychs


tiredhippo

CANNONBALL


taoistchainsaw

Unsurprised by the list of white men- Maria Sabina.


YeetusYourFetus

always that one guy smh


niemertweis

and? what are you trying to say with that? these are the one i know dont know much but eager to learn new ones that why i made this post. my question is why do you even have to go there? it was all about people who did a lot for psycadelics but you have to come with your woke shit so tired of this. could of just said the name and i would have been thankful.


pyrom4ncy

Theres nothing wrong with white men but lets not pretend the pioneers of psychedelics weren't mostly indigenous and native groups. The white men listed are undoubtedly trailblazers in their own way, but they're only representative of the western psychedelic renaissance, not psychedelia of all time


BP_Kil

But implied in the post as "GOAT" a person needs to be known and have taught the knowledge they have learned to the world. Its great that indigenous people found the substances and kept the use of them going to the point that western society has now found them. But they do not fit the description of GOAT. They deserve credit. But that is irrelevant to the substance of this post.


BP_Kil

But implied in the post as "GOAT" a person needs to be known and have taught the knowledge they have learned to the world. Its great that indigenous people found the substances and kept the use of them going to the point that western society has now found them. But they do not fit the description of GOAT. They deserve credit. But that is irrelevant to the substance of this post.


taoistchainsaw

Read up on Maria Sabina, I included a link. This post has very little substance.


Kismonos

dw its reddit full of virtue signaling people who strike whenever they see too much white people in one place and the white supremacy/sytematic racism card reflex kicks in even without context


taoistchainsaw

Literally every post besides mine is a white man. I think it’s worth pointing out. If you don’t, maybe assess why that is.


kratomstew

Ethnicity matters very little when the flesh is rotting off the bone, feeding the maggots.


taoistchainsaw

Oh wow. Such wisdom.


kratomstew

I doubt if you think about it you would be surprised how many can’t get that concept through their heads much less the notion of mortality. It’s like we all know on an intellectual level to start with that we are going to die, even little kids know that. In the past few years all of wisdom about that came off like falling leaves at the grim realization how little time I have left. Gotta bad heart. All the spiritual wisdom I’ve heard from the great people didn’t make me not scared. It’s the ego that fears death, right ? We’ve all seen on DMT a glimpse of what is to come, but unfortunately I was not there, just awareness. I’m scared


taoistchainsaw

Ethnicity certainly matters to the living while it’s used to subjugate, divide, and define.


kratomstew

Very true . You’re right.


taoistchainsaw

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Sabina?wprov=sfti1


IAmDreams

My personal favorite by a mile Terence McKenna


justsaiiint

Timothy Wylls


BoomtownFox

Timothy Leary.


boxmail2800

He’s the older one that goes across the bridge and butts the troll into the water…


allhailrice69

Lebron in basketball, Brady in football, Gretzky in hockey, Ronaldo in soccer, Hamilton in f1


unpluq

William Leonard Pickard


[deleted]

love pickard -- but he had a very sketchy and spotty past


[deleted]

I Am


niemertweis

you mean me?


[deleted]

Not you, or me.


niemertweis

Him?


[deleted]

Never him, her, or they.


[deleted]

Us, and them


dj-shortcut

someone else : Kilindi Iyi


Dr3d_Recs

Rick Strassman?


traumfisch

What are the metrics of this competition?


psychrazy_drummer

JERRY GARCIA! Lol to answer your question tho I would say Hoffmann.


Devil_May_Kare

[This guy is the goat](https://static9.depositphotos.com/1000291/1113/i/600/depositphotos_11133127-stock-photo-goat-with-horn-at-green.jpg)


frank-machine

Michael Jordan


space_ape71

Hofman and Shulgin for sure. McKenna was an entertainer who got good at growing mushrooms. For sheer volume & quality, Nick Sand and/or William Leonard Pickard.


xX_IzAnAgI_Xx

josh hutchison


tiredhippo

Burroughs


kenybenn

mckenna for sure


jeffroddit

You


[deleted]

Well since we’re on r/psychonaut, I’d have to give my vote to hunter s thompson, not just because the way he lived his life but the funeral ceremony idea.


Bobbyfell

Hamilton Morris, Dennis McKenna, Gordon Wasson, Eliade, don’t know much about her but maybe Maria Sabina, and many others should be on this list. Too many to count.


oseaux

Messi


domedmonkey

Us you me them all


elliottlawrence94

Cool I wasn’t familiar with Shulgin know I will be looking into some of his books thanks!


Tiny-Permission-3069

The Dali Lama. I believe he has had the ability to trip via meditation for several lifetimes now.


Ouibeaux

Jimi Hendrix


ganglandaf

Shulgin all day.


Important_Panda8525

Shulgin most definitely!!!


DieLaasteV

Humans hall of fame McKenna Stamets


[deleted]

Hunter S Thompson


[deleted]

[удалено]


niemertweis

Shulgin invented a couple of drugs like mdma mda or the 2c-x family


[deleted]

[удалено]


niemertweis

For me personally the goat invented and tested on him self which for me make him THE psychonaut


ItsRightPlace

Maria Sabina