Isn't Absinth Illegal in the US? So what is with the

[leftyladyfrommo]

big ad for it on Raw Story?

I haven't ever tried this stuff but lots of our famour artists did. Must be pretty good for creativity.

There is a big ad for the stuff on Raw Story - a bottle costs $199.

But I don't think we can even order it here. It has to be imported from Europe and that's illegal, too.

[khashka]

1. Can't drink it if you can't spell it, girl.

It's absinthe.

Ok, yes. It's pretty much illegal for good reason. The wormwood - the hallucinogenic ingredient - is actaully a poison and potentially fatal. Used to be you could get it in Europe and New Orleans - if you knew where to go and had the cash. But I wouldn't really advise it....


Now if I could just get my hands on some laudanum......


Khash.

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. I thought that looked kind of funny.

[Book Lover]

4. What say you to this article?

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article360842.ece

<snip>

Absinthe has never been banned in Britain. In the US, it is illegal to make it or sell it but you are permitted to own it or drink it. In France, thanks to an EU directive transposed into French law in 1988, the situation is as cloudy and as enthralling (and as French) as a glass of absinthe itself. You can make and sell absinthe so long as you don't call it absinthe but " extracts of absinthe".

Under the 1988 law, "new absinthe" must not contain the harmful substances which the old absinthe contained, except that - according to modern research - the old absinthe never did contain harmful substances in the first place.

<snip>

What is absinthe? Absinthe is the French word for "wormwood" (Artemisia absinthium), a plant in the daisy family which has medicinal properties but can be harmful and is reputed to be one of the bitterest-tasting herbs in creation. Absinthe, the drink, was created - or perhaps developed and first marketed successfully - in Switzerland and the Doubs region of eastern France in the early 19th century.

Traditionally, it contained wormwood and green anise and differing combinations of other herbs, especially "little" or Roman wormwood (Artemisia pontica), fennel and hyssop. In the 1850s, the French wine industry was devastated by an aphid-like pest called phylloxera. Most vines had to be replanted, making wine scarce and expensive in France. Absinthe filled the gap, becoming the standard drink of all classes.

[leftyladyfrommo]

6. So can we order it?

That's not making or selling?

[Book Lover]

7. Correct

Though as this article is from a UK site, I would still research your state law.

[leftyladyfrommo]

8. I just think it would be fun to try it once.

Then I would have something in common with VanGogh and his circle of buds.

[leftyladyfrommo]

5. So what s in laudinum?

That used to be a really popular thing. All the upper crust used it.

[khashka]

9. Laudanum is

essentially heroin in liquid form. In the olden days they used to drink it like wine.

Think cough syrup that tastes better.....


I got totally born into the wrong age - no good drugs, no good clothes, no good sex, no good music.. Ah well!


Khash.

[GirlinContempt]

18. Actually khash

laudanum isn't heroin, it's opium and alcohol, and usually sugar.
Heroin is synthesized, not pure opium.
And laudanum was used primarily for medicinal purposes, that's what it was developed for.

[khashka]

20. Actually GIC... you're right.

I was taking a linguistic shortcut. More people grok "heroin" than "opium". After all, most people think Opium is a perfume! I'm sorry if I insulted your intelligence..... you know I respect your knowledge!

But yes.... opium/alcohol (usually wine)/ sugar... developed for medical purposes. But I ain't gonna swear that was what it was used for. It was used for pain relief, respiratory infections, etc. It was also used for fun. More and more for fun. Why do you think they outlawed it? It was the original speedball. Alcohol (at first, later is a different story) gets you goin', add a sugar high, then mellow it down with opium. Nice combo!

But you didn't answer the important question! Where can I get some?


Khash.

[BuddhaGirl]

12. absinthe cannot be sold in the U.S.

but you can buy it from Canada or France and have it shipped to the U.S., to my understanding.

So, you "really wouldn't advise it..." in regards to drinking it? Are you speaking from personal experience? Because I have friends who drink absinthe and they say it's fine. In fact I'd love to try it sometime.

[pitohui]

15. they were selling it in london

it wasn't any $200 either, it was maybe $30 or $40 (can't remember exactly) but it looked to be a smallish bottle, i didn't buy, i have the impression it might be a sweet drink so i gave it a pass

i doubt it is especially dangerous, i think that it just a myth, like the myth that gin was esp. dangerously and that a mother would abandon her children to sit on the steps of the ghetto and drink gin (a myth from olden times when gin was first introduced to england)

we seem to need this myth and it is always told abt the fad drug of the day be it gin, absinth, crack, whatever

if people hear a myth enough, they will sure believe it and have the expected reaction to using the drug

my opinion, and a bit speculative, but when is the last time you heard of someone getting hooked on absinthe and it is sold openly in england, yet i bet v. few actually partake more than once or at all -- even tho it was in the window in a liquor store near paddington station

[GirlinContempt]

19. It isn't sweet at all

In fact, you need to add sugar. And even then, it isn't sweet.

[pitohui]

29. ok now i know

maybe next time i'll get up the nerve to try it then!

for some reason i thought it tasted like pernod -- and no -- no !

[Kali]

26. it is flavored like ouzo or raki

and turns white (or greenish white) when you add water - kind of a mouthwashy/licorice type of herbal flavor.

Not bad but you sure wouldn't want it to come back up on you!

You can buy it in several countries in Europe, I bought some in France. You can buy Pernod here or various wormwood-free versions here - when you buy in Europe be aware the vast majority are free of wormwood as well.

The real reason for toxicity and subsequent criminalization was likely bad distilation issues and cheap alcohol, not the wormwood itself.

[pitohui]

30. to me pernod is sweet

it is legally sold in new orleans or used to be, i tried it once, once was enough!

[GirlinContempt]

36. Are you thinking of Pernod Pastis?

That is like a fake absinthe, with sugar added. Real absinthe has no sugar.

[Lethe]

32. man i love ouzo

i got hooked on ouzo when a friend came back from greece with a backpack full of bottles

[GirlinContempt]

17. laudanum is easier to make than to find

[UncleSepp]

22. Absinth is also a legitimate spelling, don't be such a snot

[khashka]

35. But absynth Isn'!

It was fairly good phonetics, but not correct spelling. No big deal really.

As for snot... Don't get me started!


Khash.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

23. Absinth is the correct spelling if it's from Czech. Absinthe otherwise...

It's not dangerous. Yes, modern absinthe does contain wormwood. It's only dangerous or hallucinogenic though in large quantities over an extended period of time.

[KitchenWitch]

24. And one cannot get and good Paregoric anymore.

[DS1]

2. It's probably fake

matcomnews doesn't advertise fake booze, and we're professional drinkers

[Fenris]

10. "Arkansas Stupid" is journalistic excellence.

:bounce:

[DS1]

11. Thanks

I do believe it now qualifies me as not only a published press photographer, but now since I've surfed the net and linked to something interesting, I'm a full journalist. Lookout truthrawraw, here I come!

[Midlodemocrat]

13. Professional? You get paid to drink?

Wow. That sounds like a gig I would totally be interested in. What do I have to do to get in on that?

:bounce::beer:

[KamaAina]

14. Ye gods! Another absinthe thread?

Seems to be about one a week nowadays.

My own pet personal theory is that the unquiet spirits of New Orleans are looking for ways to reach out to the living, and that the "green faery" is as good as any, having been associated with the city for generations.

Sante!

[Squatch]

16. Just had some last night.

It is probably illegal to sell items meant for human consumption which contain thujone derived from Artemisia species. This derives from an FDA regulation (as opposed to a DEA regulation).

It is probably illegal for someone outside the country to sell such a product to a citizen living in the US, given that customs regulations specifically forbid the importation of "absinthe."

It is probably legal to purchase such a product for personal use in the US.

Absinthe can be and occasionally is seized by United States Customs, if it appears to be for human consumption.

[jukes]

21. it's illegal to import

but some companies will try if you order it, so it w/ either make it through customs (& you'll have a dissapointing REALLY bitter bottle of booze that isn't going to do more than get you booze-high , really.) the "wormwood" has some "psychoactive" properties, sim to the high from muscarine 'shrooms (which *aren't* the same as Psillocybin mushrooms) but you have to ingest VAST quantities of absinthe to note any difference and it tastes fucking awful.

most likely the "absinthe" you've seen is "sans" wormwood, and isn't really absinthe at all. this fakey absinthe is mostly sold to the "goth" crowd because all the "dark" poets drank the shit.

there's some evidence that continued use of wormwood, even the small amount in real absinthe, can cause brain-damage, but i think the psychosis of all these "dark" poets that the goths love was really just that they were sots, y/or a little schiz to begin w/.

if you're interested in more detailed (perhaps more accurate) information on the subject, visit the erowid vaults @ http://www.erowid.org/

they have highly detailed information on almost all psycho-actives



BTW, if you order a bottle of absinthe y customs *does* find it, all they'll do is confiscate it and send you a notice. you WILL NOT be charged w/ any crime, nor will your name appear on any "list" (other than the 1 your on for being here). they get FAR too many confiscations, of far more potent formulations, to bother w/ you.

so, basically, you'll just be throwing your money away.

[trof]

25. OK, I'll say it: "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder."

<hee>

[BikeWriter]

34. That joke is SO corny! Besides, you beat me to it!

[El Fuego]

27. I think what you can buy here isn't the "real deal"

[NMMNG]

28. I always see ads for it in mags I subscribe to

Such as The Nation and The Progressive. I've never checked the fine print to determine if it can be ordered in the U.S. however. :shrug:

[Lethe]

31. they sell "absinthe" here in the states that isnt real absinthe

you can tell its real if you chop your ear off, shoot yerself in the chest, write a nice arabesque/grotesque short story, or get in a violent argument with Paul Gauguin.

wormwood kicks ass

[JCMach1]

33. Yuck! Tastes like OLD Nyquil

Remember that stuff?