Absinthe is a spirit. It's very strong, and very green. But is it something more?I used to think so, until I came across this paper taking a skeptical look at the history and science of the drink, Padosch et al's Absinthism a fictitious 19th century syndrome with present impact
Absinthe is prepared by crushing and dissolving the herb wormwood in unflavoured neutral alcohol and then distilling the result; other herbs and spices are added later for taste and colour.
It became extremely popular in the late 19th century, especially in France, but it developed a reputation as a dangerous and hallucinogenic drug. Overuse was said to cause insanity, "absinthism", much worse than regular alcoholism. Eventually, absinthe was banned in the USA and most but not all European countries.
Much of the concern over absinthe came from animal experiments. Wormwood oil was found to cause hyperactivity and seizures in cats and rodents, whereas normal alcohol just made them drunk. But, Padosch et al explain, the relevance of these experiments to drinkers is unclear, because they involved high doses of pure wormwood extract, whereas absinthe is much more dilute. The fact that authors at the time used the word absinthe to refer to both the drink and the pure extract added to the confusion.
It's now known that wormwood, or at least some varieties of it, contains thujone, which can indeed cause seizures, and death, due to being a GABA antagonist. Until a few years ago it was thought that old-style absinthe might have contained up to 260 mg of thujone per litre, a substantial dose.But that was based on the assumption that all of the thujone in the wormwood ended up in the drink prepared from it. Chemical analysis of actual absinthe has repeatedly found that it contains no more than about 6 mg/L thujone. The alcohol in absinthe would kill you long before you drank enough to get any other effects. As the saying goes, "the dose makes the poison", something that is easily forgotten.
As Padosch et al point out, it's possible that there are other undiscovered psychoactive compounds in absinthe, or that long-term exposure to low doses of thujone does cause "absinthism". But there is no evidence for that so far. Rather, they say, absinthism was just chronic alcoholism, and absinthe was no more or less dangerous than any other spirit.
I'm not sure why, but drinks seem to attract more than their fair share of urban myths. Amongst many others I've heard that the flakes of gold in Goldschläger cause cuts which let alcohol into your blood faster; Aftershock crystallizes in your stomach, so if you drink water the morning afterwards, you get drunk again; and that the little worm you get at the bottom of some tequilas apparently contains especially concentrated alcohol, or hallucinogens, or even cocaine maybe.
Slightly more serious is the theory that drinking different kinds of drinks instead of sticking to just one gets you drunk faster, or gives you a worse hangover, or something, especially if you do it in a certain order. Almost everyone I know believes this, although in my drinking experience it's not true, but I'm not sure that it's completely bogus, as I have heard somewhat plausible explanations i.e. drinking spirits alongside beer leads to a concentration of alcohol in your stomach that's optimal for absorption into the bloodstream... maybe.
Link: Not specifically related to this but The Poison Review is an excellent blog I've recently discovered all about poisons, toxins, drugs, and such fun stuff.
Padosch SA, Lachenmeier DW, & Kröner LU (2006). Absinthism: a fictitious 19th century syndrome with present impact. Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy, 1 (1) PMID: 16722551
12 comments:
I don't know what the situation is now, but the last time I lived in my native Glasgow, ending in 2000, bars needed a special license from the council, over and above their alcohol license, to sell absinthe. A relic of 19th century urban myths about "absinthism"?
Absinthe is about 144 proof (72% alcohol), so many of the ill effects previously attributed to wormwood -- gastrointestinal distress, tremors, seizures, hallucinations, mental deterioration -- were almost certainly due instead to ethanol intoxication or withdrawal.
But the drink did have its comforts. Here's Robert Jordan contemplating absinthe n Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls""
'It was a milky yellow now with the water and he hoped the gypsy would not take more than a swallow. One cap of it took the place of the evening papers, of all the old evenings in cafes, of all chestnut trees that would be in bloom now in this month, of the great slow horses of the outer boulevards, of book shops, of kiosks, and of galleries, of the Parc Montsouris, of the Stade Buffalo, and of the Butte Chaumont, of the Guaranty Trust Company and the Ille de la Cite, of Foyot's old hotel, and of being able to read and relax in the evening; of all the things he had enjoyed and forgotten and that came back to him when he tasted that opaque, bitter, tongue-numbing, brain-warming, stomach-warming, idea changing liquid alchemy.'
BTW, thanks for the shout out!
Leon
The Poison Review
www.thepoisonreview.com
A timely post. The current political and media flap over mephedrone put me squarely in mind of the banning in the early twentieth century of absinthe; itself largely a reaction to Jean Lanfray murdering his family while under the influence of the green fairy (and a shopping list of other drinks).
Perhaps mephedrone is a dreadfully powerful stimulant that should stay as plant food, but it's very difficult to get a handle on the reality of any drug when seen through the twin prisms of newspaper sales and political gain.
Thanks for the post. I imagine most people with an interest in 19th century culture and art have heard the myths; it's good to know the facts.
I feel just like when my mother told me that santa doesn't exist. I used to belive in green fairy, really, especially thanks to hers influence on poetry or painting in this period of time http://www.thenutgraph.com/user_uploads/images/2009/03/04/0403_ARTTECH_ViktorOliva.jpg
"Everybody should believe in something. I believe I'll have another drink" (of absinthe)
It's drugs rather than drinks which attract more than their share of urban myths, I think - and also more than their fair share of 'culture' generally (music, art, poetry - hell, even special venues and unique decor). I've often marvelled at how things which change perception ultimately end up interacting with and changing the cultural environment.
I've consumed absinthe three times. I'm roughly 98% convinced there is some other active substance in it. If god could adjudicate, I'd be willing to bet on that at pretty steep odds.
Here's why I don't think I am mistaken. First, I sampled a large number of different experiential psychoactives, years ago. (Fortunately, I didn't get sucked into using anything regularly, except marijuana and alcohol.) I'd say I've tried 20+ different chemical species, from several "genera." Therefore, I really know what altered states are like and how they differ. Second, I am not very suggestible in general. I have a chronic illness and advanced knowledge of pathobiology, so I have tried numerous speculative treatments (not much to lose). I definitely felt significant hope that they would work, yet never once did I experience a placebo effect.
Therefore I think we should hesitate to conclude that the phenomena of absinthism (assuming they do in fact exist) are the work of ethanol.
"Green fairy"? I thought it was the "glaucous witch"?
Tasted like a licorice liqueur to me, no more, no less
For consuming different drinks in different orders, the saying goes "Liquor before beer, in the clear; Beer before liquor, never sicker." I believe that this has more to do with leaving the weaker drinks for later when one's judgment is impaired.
Anonymous: It does make sense when you put it that way. Maybe we should pay attention to the accumulated wisdom of past drinkers, in the form of urban myths.
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