Yes, Mom Took Acid: Maria Mangini on Psychedelic Elders, Hidden Histories, and the Shulgin Farm

May 7, 2026

Mariavittoria Mangini, a nurse‑midwife, scholar, and psychedelic historian, reflects on early LSD culture, Esalen life, and her work with the Shulgins. She recounts intersections of birth, death, and psychedelic practice. Short takes cover midwifery’s link to psychedelic care, lessons from cannabis reform, the Women’s Visionary Council, and the urgency of preserving underground psychedelic histories.

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ANECDOTE

Teenage LSD Reframed Religion For Maria

Mariavittoria Mangini's first LSD at 16 reframed her Catholic communion as less sacred than the psychedelic experience.
That teenage encounter made her see psychedelics as a holy vehicle and set her lifelong research direction.

ANECDOTE

Millbrook Normalized Dream Life And Vision Sharing

At Millbrook Mangini encountered a communal dream and vision culture where people openly shared dream life.
That environment normalized paranormal capacities and reinforced fearless exploration among peers.

INSIGHT

Psychedelics Often Foster Lasting Interconnectedness

Long-term psychedelic users most commonly report deep interconnectedness with people, nature, and stewardship responsibilities.
Mangini's dissertation found this theme across interviews with users aged 40+, linking early experiences to enduring social responsibility.

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This interview is part of the Shulgin Foundation's Oral Histories Series. Voices of Esalen and Shulgin Foundation collaborated to bring you a wide-ranging interview with Mariavittoria Mangini, known to many as Maria, is a nurse-midwife, scholar, psychedelic historian, and longtime advocate for the preservation of underground psychedelic knowledge. Maria’s life intersects with several crucial streams of modern psychedelic history: early LSD culture in the Bay Area and at Millbrook, the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic, Esalen in the 1970s, the work of Stanislav Grof, the emergence of midwifery and nursing as practices of care, and the long, complicated passage from psychedelic prohibition into the current renaissance. In this conversation, we explore: • Maria’s first encounter with LSD as a teenager, • The strange mixture of recklessness and reverence that shaped early psychedelic exploration. • Her years at Esalen and her encounters with figures such as Stanislav Grof, Gregory Bateson, Leo Zeff, and others. • The relationship between birth, death and psychedelic experience • Her doctoral work, Yes, Mom Took Acid, and what long-term psychedelic users told her about social responsibility, and care for the larger world. • Her work in medical cannabis, and what today’s psychedelic movement might learn from the successes and failures of cannabis legalization. • The founding of the Women’s Visionary Council • Her relationship with Ann and Sasha Shulgin, whose partnership helped shape the modern psychedelic imagination. • This talk was originally recorded in a live format created by the Shulgin Foundation, and hosted by Stacie Blanke. The shulgin foundation is an organization dedicated to preserving and extending the legacy of Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin and Ann Shulgin. Sasha Shulgin was of course a visionary chemist credited with creating more than 150 psychedelic compounds and helping identify the distinctive psychological properties of MDMA. Ann Shulgin was a writer, artist, Jungian lay therapist, and an early practitioner in psychedelic-assisted therapy, especially known for her work with the Shadow. Please enjoy this conversation with Maria Mangini. Learn more about the Shulgin Foundation at https://shulginfoundation.org/