# What law is broken by drinking Absinthe in USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536 "2006-02-14T21:39:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/1 "2006-02-14T21:39:01Z")
The title pretty much says it all. Assume the drinker does so privately and doesn’t own or import the Absinthe. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/2 "2006-02-14T21:42:49Z")
IANA Lawyer, cop, or anything relating to the law, but I’d wager it falls under contraband or controlled substance laws. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/3 "2006-02-14T21:46:15Z")
From reading about why Absinthe is [illegal](http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/absinthe/absinthe_law.shtml) it seems that it is entirely possible to consume the drink legally within the United States. To do so, however, requires rather specific circumstances. > [@](#): > > It is likely legal in the US to produce absinthe for one’s personal use using commercially available distilled liquor and infusing one’s own herbs into the alcohol, although any thujone-containing drinks are illegal to sell or distribute. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/4 "2006-02-14T21:47:28Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > The title pretty much says it all. Assume the drinker does so privately and doesn’t own or import the Absinthe. [None](http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/absinthe/absinthe_law.shtml), it seems. Selling absinthe (containing thujone) is illegal, possession doesn’t seem to be. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/5 "2006-02-14T21:56:41Z")
If the drinker does not own the absinthe, I would say the crime committed is theft. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/6 "2006-02-14T22:07:30Z")
No law is broken by posessing or ingesting absinthe in the US. The only restriction is on importing and selling it. There may be obscure local or state ordinances to the contrary, however. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/7 "2006-02-14T23:39:55Z")
Wired had a pretty good article on recreating it here in the states. I don’t know how Hurrican Katrina’s affected that, though (it was in Luisiana I think). Just saying, if you search there it’s an interesting read that doesn’t contribute information to this topic. I wonder, though – absinthe was pretty prominent in the 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries, but on the TV it’s never shown anymore. Somebody complainin’ in Washington? ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/8 "2006-02-15T00:27:17Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Wired had a pretty good article on recreating it here in the states. I don’t know how Hurrican Katrina’s affected that, though (it was in Luisiana I think). Just saying, if you search there it’s an interesting read that doesn’t contribute information to this topic. If it involved almost any form of ‘home recipe’ I can almost assure you that the end-result would be crap. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/9 "2006-02-15T00:48:19Z")
I recall from the article that the Louisiana guy was having a French manufacturer make the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/10 "2006-02-15T01:01:23Z")
Here’s the _Wired_ article in question: [http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/absinthe.html](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/absinthe.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/11 "2006-02-15T01:16:10Z")
Thanks. I might get the opportunity to imbibe some but wondered if it would be legally as potentially bad for me as imbibing an illegal drug. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/12 "2006-02-15T02:52:57Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Wired had a pretty good article on recreating it here in the states. I don’t know how Hurrican Katrina’s affected that, though (it was in Luisiana I think). Just saying, if you search there it’s an interesting read that doesn’t contribute information to this topic. > > I wonder, though – absinthe was pretty prominent in the 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries, but on the TV it’s never shown anymore. Somebody complainin’ in Washington? That’s not absinthe, it’s _ambrosia_. Judging by the way they drink it, it’s not absinthe but some kind of green spirit or wine. It’s one of the few things they carried over from TOS. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/13 "2006-02-15T04:48:12Z")
Bippy-- if it’s Hill’s or Van Gogh or Absenthe don’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/14 "2006-02-15T14:35:00Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > That’s not absinthe, it’s _ambrosia_. Judging by the way they drink it, it’s not absinthe but some kind of green spirit or wine. It’s one of the few things they carried over from TOS. D’oh. You’re right. But hey, 2003 is almost as long ago as TOS. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fridgemagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@Fridgemagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fridgemagnet)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/15 "2006-02-15T14:47:53Z")
It was never made illegal in the UK, owing to the fact that we managed to fend off Napoleon and his absinthe-imbibing troops. Curiously, it remains illegal to sell in France, though legal to manufacture for export. It’s not a popular drink, though it has its champions in [The Idler](http://www.eabsinthe.com/present/greenbohemia.htm) magazine, members of whom have an interest in the import business. The ingestion of absinthe looks more like a hard drug ritual than a cocktail, what with having to set fire to a spoon of absinthe-soaked sugar and whatnot. It doesn’t really taste nice at all, and the active ingredients in the wormwood cause madness and renal failure if taken to excess. I’ve a bottle of one of the nastier brands in my drinks cabinet, and I’ve never managed to drink enough to get drunk on it, though it leaves me with a hangover in the morning. Some of my friends are more daring, and their experience seems to be: - You wake up in the morning with unexplained injuries - It makes women really violent - It makes men quite passive. Lastly, [Kylie as the Absinthe Fairy](http://www.seborabsinth.com/pressroom/popupwindow.asp?Image=kylie) ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/16 "2006-02-15T16:25:08Z")
[QUOTE=Fridgemagnet] The ingestion of absinthe looks more like a hard drug ritual than a cocktail, what with having to set fire to a spoon of absinthe-soaked sugar and whatnot. It doesn’t really taste nice at all, and the active ingredients in the wormwood cause madness and renal failure if taken to excess./QUOTE] If they mentioned setting fire to the sugar cube, then they are idiots, you do not set fire to the sugar cube when preparing Absinthe correctly. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/17 "2006-02-15T16:37:45Z")
1- Bippy beat me to it. While it has become “fashionable” in some circles to waste the precious alcohol in your drink by burning it, it is in no way the traditional way to drink Absinthe. 2- Infusing High Proof alcohol with herbs and calling it absinthe would be like putting corn in a bottle of High Proof alcohol and calling it whiskey. Just not the same thing at all. 3- Since I don’t usually like the taste of Anise, I have not gotten the guts up to order a bottle of the Real Deal ™. It’s not that expensive, but shipping from Europe is a huge pain. 4- Sure, the ingredients in Absinthe cause health issues if taken to excess. So do Big Macs and Red Bull and Tanning and any other number of things. Like all vices, moderation is key. I wouldn’t recommend pounding a bottle of Un Emile 68 every night any more than I would recommend having Big Macs for dinner every night. But now and again, it’s nice. And I’m off to go read Absinthe reviews! ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/18 "2006-02-15T17:11:15Z")
> [@Fridgemagnet](#): > > The ingestion of absinthe looks more like a hard drug ritual than a cocktail, what with having to set fire to a spoon of absinthe-soaked sugar and whatnot. It doesn’t really taste nice at all, and the active ingredients in the wormwood cause madness and renal failure if taken to excess. 1. The ‘fire ritual’ is mainly a ploy for dumb tourists. People who drink absinthe because they enjoy the taste use a slow drip of cold water to dissolve the sugar. 2. Sure, if you buy a cheap bottle of green fire-water, it’ll taste like ass, just like any other liquor. Buy something decent, and it will taste decent. 3. Madness? Bullshit. You’ll go mad and die from the fact that it is 70% alcohol long before you’ll have any negative consequences from the wormwood. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/19 "2006-02-15T20:26:31Z")
I had a nice glass of absinthe at a gathering last May (it was [Absinthium 1792](http://www.greenfairy.org/product.php?productid=3) ), and I was inspired to do a little research into the stuff. I’m not sure how much the drinks sold as absinthe today really have in common with the original stuff. I’ve got almost no basis for comparison to any other kind of alcohol, but it was licorice-tasting and had a beautiful color. Nobody hallucinated or did anything odd, and nobody set the drink on fire. (The sugar cubes were melted in a spoon over an open flame and stirred it into the drink. I guess our hosts hadn’t heard about the cold water thing.) One friend said the result was a much more ‘happy,’ hangover-less intoxication than other alcoholic drinks, but again, I have no basis for comparison. I’d have it again if it was easy to get and not so ridiculously expensive. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536/20 "2006-02-16T01:14:05Z")
[These folks](http://www.absinthe.bz/store/absinthe-king-of-spirits.html?mv_pc=M-HitRun), who advertise in the [online edition of Reason](http://www.reason.com/), a libertarian journal, sell absinth internationally. Gosh, those bottle look pretty. Too bad I can’t drink. Let us all know how it works out! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-law-is-broken-by-drinking-absinthe-in-usa/344536.md?page=2)