Absinthe hallucinations are good old DTs.

For a long time it has been thought that the hallucinatory affects of absinthe were caused by thujone. Thujone is a poisonous chemical found in wormwood that, in low to moderate doses, can cause audio and visual hallucinations and feelings of euphoria. In larger doses, Thujone can be fatal. Wormwood was used in absinthe to give it the notorious green color that it is famed for, as well as to give it that peculiar licorice flavor.

Several scientists studying old, stored bottles of absinthe from the 1900s have concluded that the hallucinations and notorious effects of absinthe are none other than good, old fashioned alcoholism induced delirium.

An analysis of century-old bottles of absinthe — the kind once quaffed by the likes of van Gogh and Picasso to enhance their creativity — may end the controversy over what ingredient caused the green liqueur's supposed mind-altering effects.

The culprit seems plain and simple: The century-old absinthe contained about 70 percent alcohol, giving it a 140-proof kick. In comparison, most gins, vodkas and whiskeys are just 80- to 100-proof.

The modern scientific consensus is that absinthe's reputation could simply be traced back to alcoholism, or perhaps toxic compounds that leaked in during faulty distillation. Still, others have pointed at a chemical named thujone in wormwood, one of the herbs used to prepare absinthe and the one that gives the drink its green color. Thujone was blamed for "absinthe madness" and "absinthism," a collection of symptoms including hallucinations, facial tics, numbness and dementia.

Lachenmeier and his colleagues analyzed 13 samples of absinthe from old, sealed bottles in France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States dated back to the early 1900s before the ban. After uncorking the bottles, they found relatively small concentrations of thujone in that absinthe, about the same as those in modern varieties.
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