Myron Stolaroff
1920-2013
A pioneering electrical engineer and psychedelic researcher whose work helped legitimize the study of psychedelics as tools for therapy, self-discovery, and the exploration of human consciousness.
Born in 1920 in Roswell, New Mexico, Stolaroff earned a Master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1941. He then began a successful career at Ampex Corporation, where he played a key role in developing the first magnetic tape recorder. However, a profound personal experience with LSD in 1956 convinced Stolaroff that psychedelics held immense potential for psychological and spiritual growth. Believing that LSD was “the most important discovery man has ever made,” he left Ampex in 1960 to found the International Foundation for Advanced Study (IFAS) in Menlo Park, California.
As president of IFAS from 1960 to 1970, Stolaroff oversaw groundbreaking research into the therapeutic applications of LSD and mescaline. Between 1961 and 1965, the foundation administered psychedelics to hundreds of subjects in carefully controlled clinical settings, gathering valuable data on the drugs' effects. During this period, Stolaroff collaborated with numerous eminent figures in the field, including psychologist Willis Harman, psychiatrist Charles Savage, and philosopher Gerald Heard. However, in 1965, the FDA began revoking permits for psychedelic research, forcing IFAS to conclude its studies prematurely.
Undeterred, Stolaroff continued to explore altered states of consciousness throughout his life. From 1978 to 1986, he conducted personal investigations with novel psychoactive compounds, meticulously documenting his experiences. He also became a prolific writer and speaker, authoring several influential books and articles on psychedelics, creativity, problem-solving, and spirituality. His most notable works include Thanatos to Eros: 35 Years of Psychedelic Exploration (1994), an autobiographical account of his personal and professional journey with psychedelics, and The Secret Chief (1997), a biography of underground psychedelic therapist Leo Zeff.
Stolaroff's research and advocacy helped lay the groundwork for the resurgence of scientific interest in psychedelics that began in the 1990s. He served on the board of directors of the Albert Hofmann Foundation and as a consultant to the Heffter Research Institute. In his later years, Stolaroff was revered as an elder statesman of the psychedelic movement, admired for his intelligence, integrity, and unwavering commitment to the safe, responsible use of psychedelics for personal and societal benefit.
Stolaroff died in 2013 at the age of 92, leaving behind an important archive which is in the process of being catalogued and digitized at Erowid.org.
🎙️ A 1998 interview with Neal Goldsmith, available here, sheds light on Stolaroff’s path from engineer to psychedelic researcher.
TAGS: ENGINEERS, SILICON VALLEY, LSD, PSYCHEDELIC THERAPY
Stolaroff in 1961, via the Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording.
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• Sherwood, John N., Myron J. Stolaroff, and Willis W. Harman. “The psychedelic experience: a new concept in psychotherapy."“Journal of Neuropsychiatry 4 (1962): 69-80.
• Stolaroff, M. Thanatos to Eros: 35 Years of Psychedelic Exploration (1994).
• Stolaroff M. "Using Psychedelics Wisely.” Gnosis. Winter 1993;26:26-30.
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• Willis Harman, psychologist
• Charles Savage, psychiatrist
• Gerald Heard, philosopher
• James Fadiman, psychologist
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• The Erowid Vault for Myron Stolaroff
• 1998 interview with Stolaroff
• John Markoff, What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry (Viking, 2005)
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“ I was trained as an electrical engineer. But rather early in life – around the age of 30 or so – I got involved in activities that began to unfold the overriding importance of the spiritual aspect of reality. I’d come through readings – and maybe just some inherent understanding – to have an appreciation for divinity. So I was very fortunate in my life to make contact with Gerald Heard, and I used to visit him from time to time in Los Angeles. He’s the person who told me about LSD. What he had to say was remarkable. This led me to eventually look up Al Hubbard and I became absolutely fascinated with him and his tales. That led me to Canada and my first LSD experience [in 1956]...
That was a remarkable opening for me – a tremendous opening. I relived a very painful birth experience, that had determined almost all my personality features. But I also experienced the oneness of mankind, and the reality of God. I knew that from then on, that I would be totally committed to this work. A few years later, in 1961, I resigned from Ampex and set up the International Foundation for Advanced Study in Menlo Park. We were fortunate to get Dr. Charles Savage as our medical director, and we gathered a research team – Willis Harman at Stanford University, Bob Mogar from San Francisco State College, and Jim Fadiman, a graduate student in psychology at Stanford. While we carried on our work, we also carried on research. So over about three and a half years we processed some 350 people. I not only was able to witness how these people learned great skills and improved their lives, improved their relationships and well-being – but also, how some of them changed in profound and fundamental ways.”
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