[loves_mangoes]

That's mostly a myth, it's not very well absorbed through the skin at all.

For a thumbprint, you still put your thumb on your tongue and lick it. But it's important to keep in mind that only very rarely have people actually done thumbprints. Those are mostly stories, legends, and artistic works of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take them as fact.

[pengaru]

Albert Hoffman discovered LSD by accidentally absorbing it through his fingertips. [0]

> While re-synthesizing LSD, he accidentally absorbed a small amount of the drug through his fingertips and discovered its powerful effects.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_LSD#Discovery

[notch656a]

How much was Hoffman working with though? The absorptivity needn't be high when the potency is so high.

[pengaru]

From LSD - My Problem Child, pt. "Discovery of the Psychic Effects of LSD":

"Nevertheless, in the spring of 1943, I repeated the synthesis of LSD-25. As in the first synthesis, this involved the production of only a few centigrams of the compound."

"In the final step of the synthesis, during the purification and crystallization of lysergic acid diethylamide in the form of a tartrate (tartaric acid salt), I was interrupted in my work by unusual sensations."

...

"But this led to another question: how had I managed to absorb this material? Because of the known toxicity of ergot substances, I always maintained meticulously neat work habits. Possibly a bit of the LSD solution had contacted my fingertips during crystallization, and a trace of the substance was absorbed through the skin. If LSD-25 had indeed been the cause of this bizarre experience, then it must be a substance of extraordinary potency."

[notch656a]

Enjoyed the excerpts and thank you!

I take a few to mean more than 2 centigrams. So 30mg minimum. Thats 300x the 'normal' dose.

[bryanrasmussen]

so Hoffman doesn't actually know how he absorbed it

>Possibly a bit of the LSD solution had contacted my fingertips during crystallization, and a trace of the substance was absorbed through the skin.

that's a possibly, I suppose if that possibly exists then possibly some got on object X and then after leaving lab object X came in contact with his mouth or even nose when he touched his face.

[cwkoss]

idk, the rainbow family (lsd distribution network) requiring inductees to take a thumbprint to test that they aren't cops and see if they can handle the inevitable accidental dosing that can occur when laying blotter makes a lot of sense to me.

I wouldn't assert that it's 'fact' but seems very plausible. (A full 'thumbprint' is probably uncommon, but ingesting a visible amount of crystal from a fingertip seems believable)

[effingwewt]

Oh it's very well absorbed through the skin, and not a myth at all, and can be easily searched many places online.

We would routinely put this to the test.

Not only is it absorbed through the skin, but it takes longer to start and end the trip. We would do it on purpose for a longer/more intense trip if we were say camping for the weekend.

[goatsi]

You would solely take LSD by putting it on unbroken skin? Multiple LSD chemists have confirmed this is a myth.

An esteemed underground LSD chemist arrested in '05, Donnie Shackelford, is quoted in an unfinished book on black market LSD production by Tim Scully. Here's an excerpt from the interview.

>Tim Scully said, "Did you ever get dosed through your skin in the lab". Donnie Shackelford replied, "No, I have accidentally dosed myself while laying sheets, I either touched my eye, or mouth. But the answer to your question is no, you cannot be dosed through the skin. I never wore gloves in any procedure unless lye is used and it isn’t in this procedure. I learned the hard way dropping a flask with 20g of LSD in it. I was extremely upset. I’ve had it all over my hands many, many times. I was there when Dr. Nichols basically called bullshit on the good doctor at Mindstates 60th anniversary".

This is the Mindstates talk by David Nichols https://erowid.org/general/conferences/conference_mindstates...

>"Another fact: I've made LSD in my lab on many occasions for research purposes, possibly in not so meticulous a manner as Albert Hofmann. Nothing ever happened. I had several graduate students who made LSD as an intermediate for projects. No accidental ingestion of LSD ever occurred. A technician in my lab makes it routinely because we use it as a drug to train our rats. He's learned by experience that he never gets high, nothing ever happens. And yesterday I was talking to Nick Sand, and Nick said, "I made a solution of LSD in DMSO…" -- DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) is a chemical that greatly enhances absorption of other chemicals through the skin -- he says, "…I painted it on my skin. Nothing happened." A concentrated solution and nothing happened!"