No idea whether I spelled that correctly.
I saw a program on TV last night in which a pub landlord described a coctail which included Absinth. I assumed a) that mention of illegal activity outside of news programs on TV was a bad ideal, and b) that Absinth was illegal.
I am also led to believe it has psychotropic properties which in my experience of UK law would make it illegal.
Is it illegal in Britain?
What are it’s effects on perception?
It makes the heart grow fonder.
Hey, that is my joke!
(waits…)
It’s apparently legal in the Czech Republic:
I was in a diner in Vancouver, BC a few months ago, and they had absinthe on the drinks menu. (I would have tried it, but they were out.)
It was apparently relegalized in EU countries in 1981:
And just this summer relegalized in Switzerland at the same time that marijuana legalization was rejected:
I coulda sworn I posted about absinthe in a previous thread, but I can’t find anything that looks right. Anyhoo:
Yes, absinthe is legal in Britain. It’s illegal in the U.S.
No, it’s pretty much not the same thing as the old-time absinthe (e.g., lower thujone content).
No, it’s not hallucinogenic, but yes, it affects your perception (though the effects will vary depending on the brand of absinthe and on your body chemistry).
In my experience, absinthe made me focus very strongly on visual stimuli–e.g., waves, clouds, and passing traffic all seemed to have sharper focus and more of a 3-d effect. I can totally understand its appeal to visual artists.
Bear in mind, however, that absinthe tends to have a high alcohol content and a very strong flavor–generally an anise flavor, but sometimes a more generally herbal flavor. I don’t think it tastes very good (and I’m somebody who will happily drink room-temperature green Chartreuse), and IMO the effects just aren’t worth the bother of dealing with the flavor.
This past Tuesday I saw a bottle of Absinthe…plus the special sugar spoon…in a South Jersey liquor store.
Maybe so, but it would have been the pastis that doesn’t have any thujone. Was it labeled “Absente”?
Cite, in case you were wondering.
Most of the questions are answered in Cecil’s column, linked to above. Questions on the message board about absinthe are troublesome because thujone-containing absinthe is illegal in the United States, which is where the SDMB server is located. (Similar products that don’t contain thujone can be legally sold). I have deleted the link in TWOTfan’s post because the company ships (or claims to ship) thujone-containing absinthe to the United States, which is illegal. Please do not post links that could encourage illegal activity or activity of questionable legality.
I’ll close this thread because I think the factual questions have been answered and threads like this always seem to tempt people to post inappropriate links.
bibliophage
moderator GQ