23 replies to this topic

[suckerfree]

Becareful with wormwood. Too much wormwood is poisonous, just a little bit is in absinthe. I wouldn't play with wormwood extracts... there's better things to trip off of.

[Hippie3]

MycotopianWebArchives: Thujone

[doobydoobydoo]

Here's another nice article -

Howstuffworks "Does absinthe really cause hallucinations?"

Does absinthe really cause hallucinations?
by Julia Layton


January 9, 2007
When absinthe was banned in France, Switzerland, the United States and many other countries in the early 1900s, it had really fallen out of favor. It wasn't just frowned upon; it was accused of creating murderers, making children into criminals and turning women into "martyrs." That regular old alcohol received similar treatment during the Prohibition period in the United States turns out to be pretty apropos: We now know that properly manufactured absinthe, an anise-flavored, alcoholic drink, is no more dangerous than any other properly prepared liquor.
What about the tales of hallucinations, Oscar Wilde and his tulips, family massacres and instant death? Not absinthe's fault, technically speaking. Absinthe does have a very high alcohol content -- anywhere between 55 and 75 percent, which equates to about 110 to 144 proof. It makes whiskey's standard 40 percent (80 proof) seem like child's play, which is why absinthe is supposed to be diluted. Absinthe is not a hallucinogen; its alcohol content and herbal flavor sets it apart from other liquors.


Photo by Eric Litton
used under CCAS 2.5 License

Traditional absinthe is made of anise, fennel and wormwood (a plant), and various recipes add other herbs and flowers to the mix. The anise, fennel and wormwood are soaked in alcohol, and the mixture is then distilled. The distillation process causes the herbal oils and the alcohol to evaporate, separating from the water and bitter essences released by the herbs. The fennel, anise and wormwood oils then recondense with the alcohol in a cooling area, and the distiller dilutes the resulting liquid down to whatever proof the absinthe is supposed to be (based on brand variations or regional laws). At this point, the absinthe is clear; many manufacturers add herbs to the mixture after distillation to get the classic green color from their chlorophyll.

The chemical that's taken all the blame for absinthe's hallucinogenic reputation is called thujone, which is a component of wormwood. In very high doses, thujone can be toxic. It is a GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) inhibitor, meaning it blocks GABA receptors in the brain, which can cause convulsions if you ingest enough of it. It occurs naturally in many foods, but never in doses high enough to hurt you. And there's not enough thujone in absinthe to hurt you, either. By the end of the distillation process, there is very little thujone left in the product. Modern science has estimated that a person drinking absinthe would die from alcohol poisoning long before he or she were affected by the thujone. And there is no evidence at all that thujone can cause hallucinations, even in high doses.

In view of modern analysis of the drink and its ingredients, any absinthe-related deaths can most likely be attributed to alcoholism, alcohol poisoning or drinking the cheap stuff, which, like moonshine, can have poisonous additives in it. Do not buy absinthe from some guy in an alley -- you're looking at the same dangers you'd face drinking moonshine sold off the back of a truck. And unless you've got a distiller in your garage, those make-it-yourself kits sold on the Internet are going to help you create a really terrible tasting liquor-soaked-herb beverage, not absinthe.

For the record, that man who killed his family in Switzerland in 1905, spurring a whole slew of absinthe bans and even a constitutional amendment, was under the influence of absinthe -- which he'd been drinking since he woke up that morning and throughout the rest of the day (and the day before that and the day before that). And Oscar Wilde? Well, no doubt the poet did see tulips on his legs as he walked out into the morning light after a night of drinking absinthe at a local bar. Poets are like that. The rest of us wouldn't see a tulip after drinking absinthe any more than we would after a gin and tonic.

Absinthe is now perfectly legal in almost every country in which alcohol is legal. The United States is one of the only countries that still bans the sale of absinthe.

There are some other nice links there on that page also... this was the main article.

[agentprovocateur]

There is also evidence which suggests that the "delirium" and "insanity" caused by Absinthe of yesteryear was more likely caused by harmful additives and adulterants and poor distillation methods by shifty manufacturers trying to cut corners and make a buck.

True Absinthe is a pretty complex brew... takes some time/effort to get it right.