Myron Stolaroff

Myron J. Stolaroff (August 20, 1920 – January 6, 2013^[1]) was an author and researcher who is best known for his studies involving psychedelic psychotherapy. He also conducted clinical studies that attempted to measure the effects of LSD, mescaline, and other drugs on creativity.

Stolaroff was born in Roswell, New Mexico. In 1941, he received a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and from 1946 to 1960 he worked for the recording equipment manufacturer Ampex, first as a senior design engineer and later as Director of Instrumentation Marketing.

He founded the International Foundation for Advanced Study in Menlo Park and served as its president from 1960 to 1970. During this time, he was the executive administrator for a research group conducting clinical studies with LSD and mescaline which was administered to about 350 participants. The research resulted in six published papers on psychedelic therapy with Stolaroff as co-author on most of the articles. The Foundation's research came to an end in 1965 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked research permits for psychedelics.

Stolaroff attempted to continue psychedelic research using unscheduled compounds from 1970 to 1986, until the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986 was passed and halted his research again. Stolaroff also worked as a Consulting Engineer and as a General Manager of Multi-Media Productions, a manufacturer of social studies and sound filmstrips for public schools. He retired in 1979.

He published professional papers in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Gnosis, the Yearbook for Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness, and many others. Stolaroff served on the board of directors of the Albert Hofmann Foundation. He was also a consultant to the Heffter Research Institute and was on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics.

Stolaroff died on January 6, 2013.^[2]

Bibliography

Books

• The Secret Chief: Conversations With a Pioneer of the Underground Psychedelic Therapy Movement, full text (1997)
• Thanatos To Eros, 35 Years of Psychedelic Exploration, full text (1994)

Papers

• Stolaroff, MJ. (1999). "Are Psychedelics Useful in the Practice of Buddhism". Journal of Humanistic Psychology 39:1. pp. 60–80. Abstract full text
• Stolaroff, MJ. Wells, CW. (1993). "Preliminary Results with New Psychoactive Agents 2C-T-2 AND 2C-T-7". Yearbook for Ethnomedicine. full text PDF
• "Harman, WW. McKim, RH. Mogar, RE. Fadiman, J. Stolaroff, MJ. (1966). "Psychedelic agents in creative problem-solving: a pilot study." Psychol Rep. 1:211-27. PMID 5942087
• Savage, C. Stolaroff, MJ. (1965). "Clarifying the Confusion Regarding LSD-25". J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. full text PDF
• Savage, C. Stolaroff, M. Harman, W. Fadiman, J. (1963). "The Psychedelic Experience". J Cardiovasc Nurs. 15:4–5. PMID 14089792
• Sherwood, JN. Stolaroff, MJ. Harman, WW. (1962). "The psychedelic experience – a new concept in psychotherapy". J Neuropsychiatr. 4:69–80. PMID 13977209 full text PDF

Film

• Hofmann's Potion: The Early Years of LSD – story consultant

Connie Littlefield, Writer/Director

References

• Markoff, John (2006), What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-303676-9 .

External links

• Erowid, Myron Stolaroff Vault
• Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics, Board of Advisors
• Audio Archive of Interviews with and lectures by Myron Stolaroff Psychedelic Salon Podcasts