Eliot Curtis was repairing Cal State East Bay's Buchla Model 100 synthesizer when he got high

A Broadcast Operations Manager for a local California CBS News station tripped out after touching LSD left on a synthesizer from the 1960s.

Eliot Curtis - who works for KPIX Channel 5 – was repairing the device that had been abandoned in a cold, dark closet at San Francisco's Cal State University East Bay.

Curtis said after he removed a module and sprayed underneath a knob to clean 'a crust or a crystalline residue' he'd spotted, the dissolved matter started to have an effect.

'It was … felt like I was tripping on LSD,' told KPIX Television about his 'weird tingling sensation' 45 minutes later.

LSD cannot be ingested when skin is dry.

Late Swiss scientist Albert Hofman – the first person to make LSD - believes he accidentally ingested the drug through his skin.

It is often ingested orally on blotting paper where a liquid form of the drug is absorbed.

The 1960s device had been abandoned for decades at the San Francisco, California school

Curtis removed a knob to clean a 'crust or a crystalline residue' underneath and after 45 minutes felt a 'weird tingling sensation'

HOW LONG DOES LSD REMAIN POTENT? Studies suggest LSD can be stored for an indefinite amount of time as long as it is kept in a cool, dark and preferably air-tight space. Li, McNally, Wang & Salamone (1998) found that UV light made lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) decompose by 10 percent in just one hour and the same would take a week in fluorescent light. Amber glass helps protect LSD from light damage but transparent containers could keep it potent as long as it is made of polypropylene. The optimal temperature for storage is -4 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly the same as a home freezer. However a freezer poses the risk of condensation even if the LSD is vacuum-sealed. LSD can also be stored in water but it must be dissolved in distilled H20 otherwise chlorine could make the components within it inactive. Advertisement

It's not clear whether the lysergic acid diethylamide accidentally spilled onto the synthesizer or if it was stashed there on purpose.

There are rumors musicians would wet their fingers and touch the device coated in LSD for the psychedelic feeling.

This particular Buchla Model 100 was created by the late Don Buchla of the University of California, Berkeley and some of them ended up on a bus bought by LSD advocate Ken Kesey in 1966.

Buchla was also friends with Grateful Dead sound engineer Owsley Stanley – also known as Bear – and famous for making the purest street LSD.

The college's Assistant Professor of Music Ines Thiebaut said the synthesizer was popular at a time when musicians were 'looking for new ways of creating sound'.

It's played by turning knobs and patching cords.

It's possible the LSD was conveniently placed there by musicians hoping to be inspired as they created fresh sounds.

It's a good thing students didn't get their hands on the instrument that a retired professor who used to use it said was abandoned in the corner of a classroom while he worked at the school.

Curtis said he felt like he 'was tripping on LSD' for nine hours after he touched the residue

Retired professor William R. Shannon (left) said was abandoned in the corner of a classroom while he worked at the school. Assistant Professor of Music Ines Thiebaut (right) said the synthesizer was popular when musicians were 'looking for new ways of creating sound'

It's unclear whether LSD accidentally spilled or was stashed there on purpose. Pictured is Buchla Model 100 maker Don Buchla. There are rumors musicians would wet their fingers and touch the device coated in LSD for psychedelic inspiration

Some of the some of the Buchla Model 100s ended up on a bus bought by LSD advocate Ken Kesey in 1966 (pictured)

It had been commissioned for Cal State East Bay professors Glenn Glasow and Robert Basart but some modules on the analog music modular instrument were added at a later date.

Curtis finished repairing the instrument while wearing gloves and it is back in the classroom for students to use.

Wife Holly told KPIX: 'I think it’s super wild. I think this whole situation is a nice chapter in the history of the counter culture.'

The instrument model had been commissioned for Cal State East Bay professors Glenn Glasow (pictured left) and Robert Basart. Late Swiss scientist Albert Hofman (pictured right in 1994) – the first person to make LSD - believes he accidentally ingested the drug through his skin

Curtis finished synthesizer repair while wearing gloves and it's now back in the classroom