Editing Kary Mullis (section)

== Use of hallucinogens ==

Mullis practiced [[clandestine chemistry]] throughout his graduate studies, specializing in the synthesis of [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]]; according to his friend Tom White, "I knew he was a good chemist because he'd been synthesizing hallucinogenic drugs at UC Berkeley."<ref name="McDonald"/> He detailed his experiences synthesizing and testing various psychedelic amphetamines and a difficult trip on [[Diethyltryptamine|DET]] in his autobiography.<ref name="Mullis 1998">{{Cite book |last=Mullis |first=Kary |title=Dancing Naked in the Mind Field |publisher=Pantheon Books |location=New York |edition=1st |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-679-44255-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/dancingnakedinmi00mull/mode/1up?view=theater |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|167–170}} In a Q&A interview published in the September 1994 issue of ''[[California Monthly]]'', Mullis said, "Back in the 1960s and early 1970s I took plenty of LSD. A lot of people were doing that in Berkeley back then. And I found it to be a mind-opening experience. It was certainly much more important than any courses I ever took."<ref name="Schoch">{{Cite magazine |last=Schoch |first=Russell |title=Q&A – A Conversation with Kerry Mullis |magazine=California Monthly |volume=105 |issue=1 |page=20 |publisher=California Alumni Association |location=Berkeley, California |date=September 1994 |oclc=939087276}}</ref>{{vn|date=December 2019}} During a symposium held for centenarian [[Albert Hofmann]], Hofmann said Mullis had told him that LSD had "helped him develop the polymerase chain reaction that helps amplify specific DNA sequences".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/01/70015 |title=LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? |access-date=March 11, 2008 |author=Harrison, Ann |date=January 16, 2006 |magazine=Wired |quote=Like Herbert, many scientists and engineers also report heightened states of creativity while using LSD. During a press conference on Friday, Hofmann revealed that he was told by Nobel-prize-winning chemist Kary Mullis that LSD had helped him develop the polymerase chain reaction that helps amplify specific DNA sequences.}}</ref>