The blue star tattoo legend occasionally surfaces in American elementary and middle schools in the form of a flyer that has been photocopied through many generations, which is distributed to parents by concerned school officials. It has also become popular on Internet mailing lists and websites. This legend states that a temporary lick-and-stick tattoo soaked in LSD and made in the form of a blue star (the logo of the Dallas Cowboys is often mentioned), or of popular children's cartoon characters, such as Mickey Mouse and Bart Simpson, is being distributed to children in the area in order to get them 'addicted to LSD'. Coomber (2006) has a chapter on the origins and spread of the Blue Star LSD Tattoo hoax around the world and contextualises it within broader drug market myths in his book Pusher Myths (2006).
The legend possibly originated from the fact that an LSD solution is sometimes sold on blotter paper with various designs, including cartoons. The flyer lists an inaccurate description of the effects of LSD, some attribution (typically to a well-regarded hospital or a vaguely specified "advisor to the president"), and instructs parents to contact police if they come across the blue star tattoos.
No actual cases of LSD distribution to children in this manner have been documented. Furthermore, LSD does not penetrate through skin in sufficient quantities so as to induce a psychedelic experience.