Myron J. Stolaroff (August 20, 1920 – January 6, 2013) was an author and researcher who is best known for his studies involving

psychedelic psychotherapy Psychedelic therapy (or psychedelic-assisted therapy) refers to the proposed use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ayahuasca, to treat mental disorders. As of 2021, psychedelic drugs are controlled substances in most countri ...

. He also conducted clinical studies that attempted to measure the effects of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

mescaline Mescaline or mescalin (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a naturally occurring psychedelic protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, known for its hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin. Biological sou ...

, and other drugs on

creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary w ...

Biography

Stolaroff was born in

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...

. In 1941, he received a master's degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. From 1942 through 1945, he held the title of Civilian Engineer at the Navy Department, Bureau of Ships. For the next fifteen years he worked for the recording equipment manufacturer

Ampex Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name AMPEX is a portmanteau, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence.AbramsoThe History ...

, first as a senior design engineer, later as Director of Instrumentation Marketing, ultimately becoming responsible for long-range planning as Assistant to the President. Along with fellow Ampex engineer, Harold Lindsey, Stolaroff co-designed the Ampex Model 200A reel-to-reel tape recorder, which was based on a German Magnetophon modified by the audio engineer

Jack Mullin John Thomas Mullin (October 5, 1913 – June 24, 1999) was an American pioneer in the field of magnetic tape sound recording and made significant contributions to many other related fields. From his days at Santa Clara University to his death, ...

. With

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

arranging financial support for start-up manufacturing, the Ampex 200A went into production. Crosby gifted one of the first units to

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

, inventor of the solid-body electric guitar, who went on to produce numerous innovative recordings. Within three years most major recording studios had purchased an Ampex 200A. Songs such as Nat King Cole performing "Unforgettable" (1952 Capitol Records), Frank Sinatra performing "Young at Heart" (1953 Capitol Records), and Bill Haley performing "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" (1954 Decca Records), were recorded on an Ampex 200A. In 2008, Stolaroff was among the folks representing Ampex at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony to accept the company's first Grammy Award for Technical Achievement, in honor of their contribution sixty years earlier of the Ampex 200A, which "revolutionized the radio and recording industries". In 1960, Stolaroff established the International Foundation for Advanced Study in Menlo Park, a non-profit medical research organization. He served as its president until 1970. During this time, he was the executive administrator for a group conducting clinical studies with LSD and

; the IFAS administered psychedelics to about 350 participants. Their research resulted in six published papers on psychedelic therapy with Stolaroff as co-author on most of the articles. The Foundation's clinical studies came to an end in 1965 when the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) revoked research permits for psychedelics. Stolaroff privately continued 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 several other journals. Stolaroff served on the board of directors of the Albert Hofmann Foundation. He was also a consultant to the

Heffter Research Institute The Heffter Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes research with classic hallucinogens and psychedelics, predominantly psilocybin, to contribute to a greater understanding of the mind and to alleviate suffering. Fou ...

and was on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics. Stolaroff died on January 6, 2013.

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
* 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. *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. *Sherwood, JN. Stolaroff, MJ. Harman, WW. (1962). "The psychedelic experience – a new concept in psychotherapy". ''J Neuropsychiatr.'' 4:69–80.
full text PDF

Film

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

References

External links

Erowid
Myron Stolaroff Vault

Board of Advisors
Audio Archive of Interviews with and lectures by Myron Stolaroff
Psychedelic Salon Podcasts {{DEFAULTSORT:Stolaroff, Myron 1920 births 2013 deaths Psychedelic drug researchers American inventors Stanford University alumni Scientists from the San Francisco Bay Area