# Political Correctness hits absinthe **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 20, 2002, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044 "2002-06-20T12:30:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/21 "2002-06-21T06:30:38Z")
Erm…true absinthe tastes much like **gobear** described it, and, as with smoking, drinking, etc., the ritual is as much part of the experience as the substance. Be that as it may, the effect (IMHO) is like drinking and smoking marijuana at the same time. \ In the US, distilling alcohol for your own use (and subject to a limit of a certain amount per year) is legal. Hell, it would have to be, or the Pennsylvanians would start shooting again. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/22 "2002-06-21T08:24:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by occ \* > \*\*Absinthe – it’s not a drug, its a hipster accessory. There’s nothing “hallucinogenic” about it, despite the hilariously flowerly language of the French cafe types. It’s strong booze with a heavy placebo effect on those susceptable to such things. And like most celebrated inebriants, it’s got a great ritual. \*\* It is hallucinogenic. Or at least it WAS. There are several products on the market which are called absinthe, but do not contain any wormwood at all. The only legally manufactured absinthe I’ve ever had was from the Czech Republic. Even that absinthe has much, much less wormwood in it than the original, unregulated absinthes of the early 1900s, that I’d be highly skeptical that you would start hallucinating from it. It WILL get you pissed pretty quickly, as it’s fairly strong (something like 120 or 140 proof). But that’s all that I’ve noticed. ---
**Author:** ![flairgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7c8e57/32.png) [@flairgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flairgun)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/23 "2002-06-21T09:54:47Z")
Myself and a few buddies of mine went on a trip to the Czech republic last year (Great place, by the way, I’d recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been), and of course felt duty bound to try it. No hallucinations, but a hell of a lot of wobbliness was the usual result. The stuff is strong, and the flavour is unlike anything i’d ever had before. It was a pretty good way to kickstart a night out though… ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/24 "2002-06-21T10:01:27Z")
The Absinthe snobs that I associate with usually put down Czech and other Eastern European Absinthes as truly horrid. There has been an explosion of Absinthe brands to hit the markets in Spain, France, Switzerland and the rest of Europe in the last handful of years. Most of them have _thujone_ alhtough not as much as had been in the Absinthes of the 1880-1920’s. As for taste, well, I’ll be finding out soon enough. My thread was closed, apparently, because a mod thought that I was trying to weasel information on where to buy this stuff. And because a mod thought of it as a “dangerous” thing. Ignorance, and hopefully corrected now. But the fact remains, the thread is closed. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/25 "2002-06-21T10:10:44Z")
I just did a quick search and found the following: Loads of threads asking how to procure, grow, best enjoy marijuana - closed. Loads of threads on how to obtain free cable - closed. A few threads on seeking revenge against people who piss you off in the car park - closed. Call the mods Nazis by all means, but don’t call them inconsistent. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/26 "2002-06-21T11:26:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tristan \* > **My thread was closed, apparently, because a mod thought that I was trying to weasel information on where to buy this stuff.** No. It was closed because the phrasing of the OP was such that the offering of information along those lines seemed likely. > [@](#): > > \*\*And because a mod thought of it as a “dangerous” thing. Ignorance, and hopefully corrected now. But the fact remains, the thread is closed. \*\* I don’t know whether **Cajun Man** considers absinthe dangerous or not. I _do_ know posession of it is illegal in the United States, and since the OP wasn’t a debate on the illegality, but a quest for information about market prices, the thread was closed. I honestly don’t see why that decision is controversial. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/27 "2002-06-21T21:24:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulykamell \* > \*\* > > It is hallucinogenic. Or at least it WAS. There are several products on the market which are called absinthe, but do not contain any wormwood at all. The only legally manufactured absinthe I’ve ever had was from the Czech Republic. Even that absinthe has much, much less wormwood in it than the original, unregulated absinthes of the early 1900s, that I’d be highly skeptical that you would start hallucinating from it. It WILL get you pissed pretty quickly, as it’s fairly strong (something like 120 or 140 proof). But that’s all that I’ve noticed. \*\* You can buy wormwood extracts, root material, and the like. I read several first-hand reports from those who tried to “trip” by spiking alcohol (usually vodka) with large amounts of the stuff. The general result? Very disappointing. They got drunk, complained of the horrible taste, and so forth, but nothing resembling an experience you’d get from one of the more established psychedelics. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/28 "2002-06-21T21:29:42Z")
I often hear that posession of “absinthe” is illegal in the US, but I’d like to see a cite for this. None of the ingrediants, themselves, are illegal. Absinthe minus the wormwood is readily available, and wormwood itself is readily available. I don’t believe anything called “absinthe” could be scheduled by the DEA, as its not a specific chemical structure. My guess is that, if anything, it’s illegal to sell classical absinthe as a food product, but this would be an FDA restriction. I don’t believe posession would be illegal; you can eat anything you want, but you can’t market certain food products, for public safety reasons. ---
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/29 "2002-06-22T00:17:50Z")
I have two bottles, one cost £6 in the town that grows the Budvar hops and it’s lush with sugar or orange juice and nastylethal on it’s own. The other is in my drawer at work and it’s foul and acrid for emergencies only. They both say Absinthe on the bottle, the nicer one comes in a squareish bottle. Get that one. Who says £6 is overpriced for a litre of 70% proof spirits? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/30 "2002-06-22T00:32:17Z")
For your information: > [@](#): > > [Code of Federal Regulations] > [Title 21, Volume 3, Parts 170 to 199] > [Revised as of April 1, 2000] > From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access > [CITE: 21CFR172.510] > > [Page 49-52] > > ``` > TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS > > ``` > > CHAPTER I–FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN > SERVICES (CONTINUED) > > PART 172–FOOD ADDITIVES PERMITTED FOR DIRECT ADDITION TO FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION–Table of Contents > > ``` > Subpart F--Flavoring Agents and Related Substances > > ``` > > Sec. 172.510 Natural flavoring substances and natural substances used in conjunction with flavors. > Natural flavoring substances and natural adjuvants may be safely used in food in accordance with the following conditions. > (a) They are used in the minimum quantity required to produce their intended physical or technical effect and in accordance with all the principles of good manufacturing practice. > (b) In the appropriate forms (plant parts, fluid and solid extracts, concretes, absolutes, oils, gums, balsams, resins, oleoresins, waxes, and distillates) they consist of one or more of the following, used alone or in combination with flavoring substances and adjuvants generally recognized as safe in food, previously sanctioned for such use, or regulated in any section of this part. > > ```auto > > ----------------------------------------------- > Common name Scientific name Limitations > ---------------------------------------------- > > (SNIP!) > > Artemisia (wormwood) Artemisia spp Finished food thujone free\1\ > > (BIG-ASS SNIP) > > Cedar, white (aborvitae), leaves and twigs Thuja occidentalis L Finished food thujone free\1\ > > (BIG-ASS SNIP) > > Oak moss Evernia prunastri (L.) Ach., Finished food thujone free\1\ > > (SNIP SNIP SNIP TO MY LOO...) > > Tansy Tanacetum vulgare L In alcoholic beverages only; > finished alcoholic beverage thujone free\1\ > > (SNIP SLIDING AWAY...) > > Yarrow Achillea millefolium L In beverages only; finished beverage thujone free\1\ > > (SNIP! SNIP! SNIP!) > > ``` > > * * * > > \1\ As determined by using the method (or, in other than alcoholic beverages, a suitable adaptation thereof) in section 9.129 of the ``Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists,’’ 13th Ed. (1980), which is incorporated by reference. Copies may be obtained from the Association of Official > Analytical Chemists International, 481 North Frederic Ave., suite 500, Gaithersburg, MD 20877-2504, or may be examined at the Office of the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., suite 700, Washington, DC 20408 [42 FR 14491, Mar. 15, 1977, as amended at 43 FR 14644, Apr. 7, 1978; 49 > FR 10104, Mar. 19, 1984; 54 FR 24897, June 12, 1989] ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/31 "2002-06-22T00:38:18Z")
Regarding legality - I can’t vouch for this info, not having checked it all myself, but everything I have checked…checks. From the Absinthe FAQ: > [@](#): > > In the United States of America, absinthe was originally banned by Food Inspection Decision 147 in 1912. Now, thujone is banned as a food additive according to Section 801A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of August, 1972. Wormwood was included on a list of unsafe herbs which the FDA released in 1975. > > The European Community Codex Committee on Food Additives has restricted the levels of thujone to 0.5 ppm (mg/kg) in food and beverages, 10 ppm (mg/kg) in alcoholic beverages containing more than 25% alcohol, 5 ppm (mg/kg) in weaker alcoholic beverages, and 35 ppm in bitters. Absinthe was banned in Belgium in 1905, in Switzerland in 1907, in Italy in 1913, and in France in 1915. > > Absinthe (made with wormwood) is still available in Spain (contrary to Pendell (1995)) and reportedly in Denmark, Andorra, and Portugal as well. It has also recently become popular in the Czech Republic under the brand name “Hill’s Absinth.” > INTERNATIONAL LAWS: > > European Union: We have received report that European Union treaties may make sales of thujone-containing absinthe legal in all EU countries. > > Britain - Available in stores and some pubs, now appears to be legal for sale. No confirmation of thujone content. > > Canada - Thujone containing absinthe available in liqour stores, including the Czech brand Hill’s Absinth. > > Czech Republic - Thujone containing absinthe available in stores including Tesco, a large supermarket chain. > > Germany(Deutschland) - Thujone-containing absinthe available at bars and stores in Germany, in 2002 it is quite popular in some parts of Germany and Austria > > Portugal - Thujone containing absinthe sold in liquor stores, bars, clubs, and supermarkets. > > Sweden - Absinthe sold in all liquor stores marked as containing wormwood extract: > > "In Sweden absinthe can be bought in all liquor stores (Pere Kermann’s Absinthe, made in France). And the way it works in the EU is that if a product is legal in one country it is automaticaly legal in all EU countries. > > It says on the front label “Spiriteux aux extraits de plantes d’absinthe” And on the back label " ingredients: alcohol, water, aroma, wormwood infusion, sugar, colouring: E131-E102. It is sold as containing thujone." - from Ulf > > Spain - Thujone containing absinthe widely available. I have not included a link, because I am uncertain if linking to this particular site is a violation of Board. A Google Search will turn up the place, however… And I’m sorry about the formatting above. It did not do that in Preview, at all. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/32 "2002-06-22T12:12:30Z")
Also, Absinthe makers are active in Switzerland, France, and now the UK. Home brewing is dangerous when one of your flavors is a poison. But overall, after talking with several people, it seems the effect is similar, at best, to a mild marijuana high. So the only beef I’ve got is that a thread got killed for what it “might” have done. If that’s the case, any thread about guns, and abortion, and nationalism should be closed post-haste! Oftenm those threads lead to personal insults and attacks, which we all know is banned by board rules. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/33 "2002-06-22T13:26:37Z")
Well, **Tristan** , it really boils down to two things that you don’t seem willing to accept and walk away from. Judgement calls and personal preferences. I’m not saying you don’t _know_ these, on the contrary. But the SDMB is not a haven of unrestricted speech, and every single Admin and Mod has the right to not allow talking about whatever they want. If **Arnold** doesn’t want to talk about spiders, then the SDMB will ban discussions on spiders. If **UncleBeer** doesn’t want to discuss Buffy, then by God there will be no discussion of Buffy. And if I don’t want to discuss anything on my own Board, then it won’t be discussed. It doesn’t have to be rational, it doesn’t have to adhere to precedent, and it can be arbitrary. I know you know this, but you’re not acting like you do. I mean…here is the truth. _Nothing_ you say here will change their opinion on discussion of it, so…there’s no point in talking about it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/34 "2002-06-22T15:37:50Z")
Well, of course it’s a judgment call, but we _try_ not to let personal preferences influence us. **Cajun Man** and I don’t care whether you drink absinthe or not. The MPSIMS thread was one step away from asking “Where can I buy some absinthe . . . cheap?” So it was closed. The GD thread asking “Should absinthe be legal?” is still open, as it should be. There are topics that I would rather not see discussed on this board. (I thought about listing a few, but thought better of it.) However, I would not close a thread just because it is a topic _I_ don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/35 "2002-06-22T16:43:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrMatrix \* > \*\*Well, of course it’s a judgment call, but we _try_ not to let personal preferences influence us. > > … > > There are topics that I would rather not see discussed on this board. (I thought about listing a few, but thought better of it.) However, I would not close a thread just because it is a topic _I_ don’t like. \*\* Yes, of course. When I spoke of “preference” I meant that you have the _option_ to do that, should you choose, and that no one should really gripe about it because it’s your house. I certainly let my personal preference drive what I allow, so I’m somewhat arbitrary and irrational I guess. But I’ve only had 3 complaints out of 313 people…that’s a good figure, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![white-tigeress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f475e1/32.png) [@white-tigeress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/white-tigeress)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044/36 "2002-06-22T17:06:54Z")
I have no comment to make apart from … tell you later [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-correctness-hits-absinthe/115044.md?page=1)