Synthesis of MDMA
Síntesis de la MDMA
- Date
- 1912 · confidence high
- Place
- Darmstadt, Germany
- Credited to
- Anton Köllisch (Merck laboratories)
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
Chemist Anton Köllisch synthesises MDMA at Merck as an intermediate compound while pursuing a different drug (methylhydrastinine); its psychoactive effects are not investigated until decades later.
The 1912 patent protected methylhydrastinine, the compound Köllisch was pursuing; MDMA remained an unexploited by-product until its later rediscovery.
What it led to
- Rediscovery and pharmacological study by Alexander Shulgin (1970s)
- Recreational use and rave culture
- Clinical research into assisted psychotherapy