Absinthe - Legality and Effectiveness

I will keep this quick, as time is running out on my internet cafe computer in Amsterdam.

I live in the US and would like to bring some absinthe back with me as a gift. Is this wise. The substance is banned in the US and I fear that customs, if they searched my bag, would prosecute me. Would they merely take it away, or would they send me to jail? Does absinthe really have the hallucinatory effect that it is reputed to have? Also, what about bringing cuban cigars back home as well? Safe?

Thanks all. Please respond soon as I only have a few days here.

 

Cubans are a worse idea than the absinthe. I'd say if the absinthe doesn't have a distinct smell you should just put it in a 2 liter bottle or something. Or maybe put it in a bottle of liquor and declare it at customs. I'm sure they're not going to go around sniffing your rum bottles..... or are they?

 

Myth, reality and absinthe - the truth about Thujone

The origins of absinthe can be traced back to the end of the 18th century, when Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor, used wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) together with anise, fennel, hyssop and various other herbs distilled in an alcoholic base as a herbal remedy for his patients. Ordinaire�s recipe eventually found its way into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who established the Pernod fils dynasty when he opened his first distillery in 1805, and very soon Extrait d'absintheï stopped being a local curiosity and started on its route to becoming a national phenomenon in France, and by the end of the 19th century it had been embraced by the Bourgeoisie and demi-monde alike with over 2 million litres being consumed annually in France.

At this time there was a powerful prohibitionist lobby gaining public attention throughout France and it should be noted that research was rarely totally independent and was conducted to support a particular position, for or against the banning of alcohol. The first published evidence for absinthe�s harmful effects in animals dates from the 1860s (Magnan V. Epilepsie alcoolique; action sp�ciale de l'absinthe: �pilepsie absinthique. Comptus Rendu des Seances et Memoires de la Soci�t� de Biologie (Paris) 1869; 5(4th series): 156-61); (Amory R. Experiments and observations on absinthe and absinthism. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 1868; 7: 8:68-71, 83-5). This purportedly shows that wormwood oil and alcohol produce a synergistic effect which leads to epileptiform convulsions. Magnan extended his studies to acute alcoholics and concluded that absinthe produced symptoms in humans that were distinct from alcoholic delirium tremens and manifest themselves as epileptic convulsions.


What is more likely to have caused harm to regular absinthe drinkers is the adulterants used in the cheaper varieties. Absinthe existed in a quality pyramid much as wine does today, for each quality brand there were many more indifferent and positively harmful versions being sold cheaply to those who could not afford to buy a reputable brand. Common adulterants were cupric acetate (to provide the valued green colour) and antimony trichloride (which provided a cloudiness when water was added in imitation of the milky appearance of diluted absinthe). The purity of the base alcohol used for lesser brands would also have been questionable, and toxic levels of methanol from poor rectification would have been a real possibility. An additional aggravating factor is that as the cheaper brands were lower in alcohol than the quality brands, around 45% abv for �absinthe demi-fine� compared to 68 or 72% for �absinthe superior�, someone drinking the cheaper version and seeking to obtain the same effect from the alcohol would have needed to consume more of the absinthe and hence more adulterants.

On the other hand the base alcohol used in quality absinthe was rectified wine alcohol at 85% which was free from congeners, and although bottled at 68% (to preserve the natural green colour of the chlorophyll) the final strength when diluted was no more than a glass of wine. Interest in absinthe naturally waned after the ban in Switzerland and France, and scientific interest faded until a paper was published in 1975 (Castillo et al; Nature, 1975, 253:365-356) which suggested similarities between the reported effects of absinthe and those of marijuana (Cannabis sativa) and attempted to explain these by highlighting similarities in the molecular geometry of thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol. This reignited the controversy surrounding absinthe but no further evidence to support these findings and in 1999 Meschler and Howlett determined that thujone had no activity at the cannabinoid receptor. (Meschler and Howlett, Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 1999, 62(3): 473-80) and current research points to it being a GABA-A modulator (Mold et al, PNAS, 1999, 97(8), 3826). Thujone�s GABA modulating activity explains its convulsant effects at high doses and smaller doses may produce stimulant action (there is anecdotal evidence that drinking absinthe produces a clarity of thought that is not usually associated with alcoholic drinks).

I'd say myth busted...

 

I think it is safe to say that sheeprooter won't be getting back in...

 

I beleive that it is illegal to sell for human consumption. Not to buy, or posses.

heres a link: http://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.cgi?ID=2693

 

legal in Canada
well, some forms at least, nto sure of the real/hardcore stuff with the wormwood is alright or not by our laws yet