# Absinthe
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 31, 2002, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952 "2002-12-31T22:49:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jayjam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjam)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2002, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/1 "2002-12-31T22:49:25Z")
Does anyone know of, or has anyone heard of any place that it is still possible to obtain Absinthe, the alcohol made from Wormwood, from? I know it’s illegal in the U.S. because of some of the hallucenogenic property it contains, and I gather that it is really bad for you, but people in the 1800s use to drink it, so I know it’s possible to use it with out too severe of conseqences. Anyhow, is it possible to get any into the U.S. short of smuggling it in (not that I would dream of doing so!)?
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### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2002, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/2 "2002-12-31T22:56:58Z")
The short answer is “there is no legal way”.
IIRC, the long answer is “there is possibly a legal way, but it would need to be tested in the courts”.
I know it is legal in Spain and the UK. I buy mine in London, at a shop called Jerry’s in Soho.
Search on “absinthe” on this Board for much info. There are a few long threads on it. However, let it be known that discussion of it has been frowned upon by the Staff in the past.
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### Author:  [@jayjam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjam)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2002, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/3 "2002-12-31T23:07:51Z")
Thanks for the information…I don’t want anyone else to respond to this thread if the topic has been deemed inappropriate by the Staff…I’ll continue my search on my own.
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### Author:  [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2002, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/4 "2002-12-31T23:42:17Z")
Thanks for cooperating.
The answer of “how can I legally get this stuff in or into the United States” is “you can’t.”
The question “were can I get it legally” is legit, and we’ll keep it open.
Persons wishing to post about how to get it in the United States _illegally_ or make it or whatever, are advised not to. Really, really strongly advised.
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### Author:  [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2002, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/5 "2002-12-31T23:46:03Z")
All you do, is some Worm, some Wood, and a bottle of vodka, and put it in a blender… I mean, nothing. 😃
AFAIK, it’s available in Alberta, though I’m not sure about here (Sask), or the rest of Canada.
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### Author:  [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/6 "2002-12-31T23:53:19Z")
Here’s a site that (I think) is pretty accurate and should answer a lot of “drug” questions:
[http://www.erowid.org/index.shtml](http://www.erowid.org/index.shtml)
I do believe that it does not tell you _where_ to get drugs, so it should be safe.
If not, Mods, please remove it, as my only interest is to provide information.
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### Author:  [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/7 "2003-01-01T01:12:35Z")
You can still buy Herbsaint in the U.S. It’s basically absinthe without the wormwood.
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### Author:  [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/8 "2003-01-01T02:48:45Z")
[Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/011026.html) wrote a column about absinthe.
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### Author:  [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/9 "2003-01-01T02:56:21Z")
As **Anthracite** and **manhattan** say. It’s worth a web search, as there are a number of substitutes legal in the USA (and legal for importation) - for instance, “Absente” - with very similar flavour and style but without the wormwood. The important point is that it’s wormwood (i.e. thujone) content that is banned in the USA.
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### Author:  [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/10 "2003-01-01T17:27:43Z")
I have found a site that will ship absinthe to you, but I will not post it, as I would think that would be illegal in the US…
> [@](#):
>
> It is illegal to make or sell Absinthe in many countrys through out the world (Spain Portugaul and the Czech Republic being exceptions), it is also illegal to own or use a still without a license in many countries.
Mods feel free to remove link/post
~Ferry
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### Author:  [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/11 "2003-01-01T17:43:27Z")
I removed the link.
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### Author:  [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/12 "2003-01-01T18:11:45Z")
Thank you kindly!
~Ferry
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/13 "2003-01-01T18:24:59Z")
A followup question: I was watching _From Hell_ last night. Johnny Depp’s character mixes something called laudanum in his absinthe. What’s that all about?
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### Author:  [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/14 "2003-01-01T18:46:28Z")
Laudanum was the panacea prescription of the Victorian era. It’s just a mild opiate. Mix it up with some absinthe and you’ve got alchohol, barbituates, and a hallucinogen all in one glass. A Brompton cocktail for the Romantic poets of the time.
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/15 "2003-01-01T19:16:33Z")
Anybody here have the opportunity to try both real absinthe and the psuedo-absinthes? How’d they compare?
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### Author:  [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/16 "2003-01-01T19:51:51Z")
I just had this discussion at the liquor store last week. (I was buying beer and Drambuie, not absinthe, if any one cares.) They had a bottle of absinthe on display in the specialty cabinet, and a couple of guys behind me in line noticed it. We ended up discussing it with the staff member at the checkout, and she says it’s legal everywhere in Canada. So you’ll have to come to the next Vancouver Dopefest and buy a bottle for all of us to try.
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### Author:  [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/17 "2003-01-01T21:15:02Z")
_KidCharlemagne:
barbiturates_
Not quite. Although barbiturates were a late 19th century invention, laudanum was just an alcoholic solution of opium (e.g. opium dissolved in wine).
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### Author:  [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/18 "2003-01-01T21:42:51Z")
Didn’t it have to be consumed in volume to bring forth hallucinations?
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### Author:  [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/19 "2003-01-01T21:43:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by raygirvan \*
> \*\*_KidCharlemagne:
> barbiturates_
>
> Not quite. Although barbiturates were a late 19th century invention, laudanum was just an alcoholic solution of opium (e.g. opium dissolved in wine). \*\*
I took some artistic license because I love the word. 🙂
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### Author:  [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/145952/20 "2003-01-01T22:14:14Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Hastur \*
> \*\*Didn’t it have to be consumed in volume to bring forth hallucinations? \*\*
Yes. Two or three shots might make you tipsy, but you’d probably have to go for a bottle or so at a sitting to see anything funky.
~Ferry
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