Posted by Ame Sans Vie on January 17, 2004, at 10:13:31
In reply to Re: Absinthe, thujone, THC, posted by SLS on January 14, 2004, at 15:00:28
Yeah, Van Gogh was one of the more notorious absintheurs of days gone by. There is still debate as to whether it was his chronic use of absinthe which led him to cut off his own ear, to stop the voices. Of course, most scientists with knowledge on the subject of "absinthism" today recognize it for what it truly was -- alcoholism. Absinthe was commonly 150 proof, and it was routinely drunk by the bottle.
For the record, Ernest Hemingway, Teddy Roosevelt, Baudelaire, Manet, Oscar Wilde, Marilyn Manson, and Johnny Depp are some other absinthe afficionados.
Also, I've now discovered that even pastis (absinthe w/o wormwood) does contain thujone! The most popular brand in the U.S., Absente, contains 3.5mg/L (they use Southern wormwood, instead of Roman wormwood, to sneak it past the FDA). To put things into perspective, in Spain, Portugal, England, and other European Union countries wherein absinthe is legal, there is a law that allows no more than 10mg/L of thujone in any absinthe. So 3.5mg is a pretty good amount, and surely accounts for the feeling I get from Absente that is so absinthe-like.
poster:Ame Sans Vie
thread:300386
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040110/msgs/301970.html