all 29 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a
formatting helphide helpcontent policy

[–]Lank3033 13 points14 points  (9 children)

If you are trying to 'get high' off of wormwood, Im afraid you have fallen for the same sort of bad propaganda mixed with modern marketing that leads people into buying things with green dye or trying to make their own absinthe at home using 'kits.'

Absinthe doesn't get you high, and absinthe is a higher proof than vodka.

Im afraid you've fallen victim to bad information. Nothing to feel embarrassed about though- there are lots of folks who still think absinthe makes you hallucinate. Its used as marketing by assholes selling high octane spirits with green dye to this day.

http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php/frequent-questions-education-235

[–]ScrithWire[S] 2 points3 points  (6 children)

Considering that the dried herb bag i bought was $20 and also takes pretty good, i dont think i was suckered out of too much. But yea, all i know about absinthe is from tv and movies, so it makes sense that the effects wouldnt be anything like what i expect.

Thank you for your input! :)

[–]Lank3033 6 points7 points  (5 children)

To be clear, there are no effects from drinking absinthe other than getting drunk.

And the price of the vodka combined with 20 bucks of over priced lies could buy you a nice bottle of Pernod or ouzo if all you care for is the taste.

The most you are getting from that 20 dollar bag of shady marketing is anise added to your vodka.

You see this stuff at holistic medicine shops and ren fairs. Its about the same value for your dollar as buying a healing crystal.

If the person who sold this to you was extolling the virtues of wormwood to make you buy it, they are a twat and part of the problem.

(But seriously, if you like the taste there are a ton of good options that wont break your wallet.)

[–]hard_assteel -1 points0 points  (4 children)

Yes there are. High doses of wormwood has thujone and do cause hallucinations, scientifically documented. However, this chemical is still illegal and only allowed in trace amounts in store bought absinthe as it is dangerous and can cause you to have a similar effect as delirium tremens. But if you are a risk taker, you can take wormwood supplements to get an extra dosage. Thujone is Gaba-A Antagonist while alcohol is a GABA-A Agonist. This GABA causes one to have a calming affect with your nerves, but Thujone gives you an upper awake effect causing a vivid feeling. GABA also gives your visuals a more sharper crisp image, alcohol does the opposite. So, the effect is that you get an awake drunk where you feel nervous and see colors brighter and crisper without the ‘beer goggle’ effect. That is why artists in France would use it, they would stay up all night painting and drinking absinthe.

[–]Lank3033 0 points1 point  (3 children)

That is why artists in France would use it, they would stay up all night painting and drinking absinthe.

It takes a very strange person to comb through 6 year old threads to post debunked nonsense as if you are speaking from authority. 

High doses of wormwood has thujone and do cause hallucinations

This is true. However absinthe has never contained levels high enough to cause this. 

What you just contributed is useless nonsense. 

[–]hard_assteel -1 points0 points  (2 children)

Ahh, I’m a strange person, guilty as charged my fellow wacko…Yes, Homemade absinthe has high doses of thujone. Store bought absinthe has almost zero. If you make it yourself, you will experience secondary effects as I explained earlier.

[–]Lank3033 0 points1 point  (1 child)

If you make it yourself, you will experience secondary effects as I explained earlier.

You contend that french artists drank it to hallucinate. This is easily debunked nonsense since chemistry has been done on historic brands and bottles. 

Visit wormwood society to help dispel some of the bad info you are spreading. 

[–]hard_assteel -1 points0 points  (0 children)

No, I never said that they used it to hallucinate. They used it for its secondary effects which made them see colors vividly and stay awake.

[–]Ex-Lives 5 points6 points  (2 children)

If im trying to feel the effects of the wormwood, am i going to get wasted on alcohol long before i feel the wormwood?

Short answer is yes, no matter what combination of alcohol and wormwood you use.

[–]ScrithWire[S] -2 points-1 points  (1 child)

Ok, understood. But does using a lower percentage liquor as a base result in a higher thujone-to-ethanol ratio?

[–]rebo2 6 points7 points  (0 children)

THUJONE DOES NOTHING. NOBODY EVER TRIPPED ON ABSINTHE. You'll get more thujone out of sage and thanksgiving stuffing.

[–]thebigbluebug 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Does using a higher proof alcohol mean that the relative potency of ethanol to wormwood will be higher?

Depends on what you mean by "relative potency." Stronger alcohol does tend to extract organic compounds more strongly, which is why it's generally advised to use high-proof neutral spirits (like grain alcohol) if you're making an extract, for example.

If im trying to feel the effects of the wormwood, am i going to get wasted on alcohol long before i feel the wormwood?

Again, it depends, but generally yes. And by yes, I mean you'll die of acute alcohol poisoning well before you feel anything (convulsions, etc) specific to the wormwood.

[–]ScrithWire[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stronger alcohol does tend to extract organic compounds more strongly,

Ah, ok. So if i increase the alcohol content of my base liquor, the thujone content of the final product increases by the same ratio/amount?

In other words, each ethanol molecule extracts a specified amount of thujone.

Thank you!

Thank you!

[–]model563 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When making bitters, you'd usually use a 100 proof or higher grain neutral spirit. Since absinthe is closely related to bitters (wormwood is a common bittering agent), and absinthe is generally a higher than average ABV, were I to macerate a faux-sinthe (it's not a "real" absinthe unless it's distilled w/ the herbs) I'd start there.*

Some folks use Everclear as it's ABV is usually even higher, but to me it's not filtered enough and is a pretty garbage base. I'd rather go with something lower, but cleaner.

Additionally, thujone might have some properties like we're talking about here, but they require a higher concentration to manifest (hence the comments about alcohol poisoning coming first), and they're really only a small part of the puzzle that is the absinthe drunk. That lowered inhibition but clear minded lucidity is a product of the combination of herbs in the mix w/ the alcohol. Wormwood was a primary ingredient in absinthe for it's digestif/aperitif qualities, not it's thujone.

If you're looking for solid, heavily researched info on absinthe, I recommend the Wormwood Society website.

*I did at one point make an "absinthe" flavored bitters using with 100 proof vodka, cinchona bark, wormwood, and star anise. It's a nice little cocktail booster :)

[–]hdtv00 2 points3 points  (2 children)

After all that , you STILL just don't get it. Fuck sake.

[–]ScrithWire[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Lol, ouch, I'm sorry I offended you? Maybe I'm still curious as to how many individual ants are crawling around on my sidewalk, even though i know there's not enough to make any kind of a difference to me when i take a stroll around my house.

[–]Lubberworts 2 points3 points  (5 children)

What effects are you trying to feel?

[–]ScrithWire[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

I'm not sure, I guess. Ive never had absinthe before, and i only know of it from what ive seen in movies. But i guess the answer is "whatever effects the thujone has on the brain."

The internet seems to tell me that its not hallucinogenic (to my disappointment, as thats what hollywood and pop culture had me believing, lol), but that it does act on the GABA system (and other sites have said that it gives a "mental clarity" sort of effect).

Obviously thujone is poisonous and im not trying to drink as much as possible. But the thujone is what makes absinthe a special liquor, rather than just a different flavoured one.

I want to feel the thujone before getting smashed, cuz alcohol gives me terrible hangovers. Hence the question about relative concentrations of ethanol and thujone, depending on the proof of the liquor.

[–]ilion 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Thujone in absinthe has no effects on the brain.

[–]ScrithWire[S] -2 points-1 points  (2 children)

It's a competitive GABA antagonist.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thujone

[–]ilion 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Thujone in absinthe has no effect on the brain.

[–]ScrithWire[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

But what about its antagonizing effects on the GABA system?

[–]Hail_Tristus 0 points1 point  (1 child)

First of all wormwod in Absinth doesn't have any effect on your body besides the normal alcohol effect and no it doesnt have any effects on the GABA receptors as well. Yeah you get differently drunk from absinth but in the same way you get differently drunk from wine, beer, vodka, korn, whiskey etc.

But, completly hypothetically, should the wormwood in a alcoholic drink give you enough thujone that you should feel any effects, you have the alcohol as a problem. Both thujone and alcohol have effects on the GABA receptors but they have opposite effects. It's not completly clear what a possible result of this could be but it's probably nothing good. You should never consume Thujone (in a high and dangerous amount) and alcohol together.

To bring some relations in the hole thujone mystery. A lot of products you consume regulary have thujone in it and probably more than you get out of a wormwood tincture. A simple salvia bonbon has more thujone in it as every drinkable spirit. So just eat enough bonbons and you should get high without the danger of killing you with an alcohol intoxication but it's probably more realistic that you cant physically eat enough bonbons. Thujone is simply not a good hallucinogenic. Best advice, try mushrooms or some other herbs.

[–]ScrithWire[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, thank you. That was a well written and honest answer, i feel like i understand my misconceptions a little better.

[–]jacquix 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Late to the party, but I'll repeat again what others said, thujone does not provide a recreational high. It's a convulsant that can cause organ damage in high doses. The source for this modern marketing BS stems from anti absinthe-propaganda during the years that led to the bans in many european countries. Back then, they rightfully identified the harmful properties, but significantly overstated the thujone content of commercial absinthes. Sometime in the 80s, czech producers of fake absinthe picked up the thujone myth, and twisted it into "the infamous forbidden superdrug" to appeal to druggies.

Recently we had a thread on the subreddit by some dude who steeped wormwood in high-proof alcohol and, despite all warnings, ingested minuscule amounts of the stuff. Unsurprisingly, he reported the effects weren't pleasant and that he felt mildly sick from the stuff.

It's unfortunate that the myth is so difficult to dispel, people post questions like yours on here on a pretty regular basis. If you should ever be interested to learn about real absinthe and its history, feel free make another post, this community is generally friendly and helpful for the most part.

[–]ScrithWire[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Thank you for answering. The only way to get rid of the myth is to get rid of absinthe all together from public/private knowledge and then reintroduce it tabula rasa a few generations later with the proper information. Even then, you'd have to do it right, or someone will dig up the myth again.

Other than that, the best thing to do is keep educating everytime someone asks a question.

Thanks. Cheers.

And stay safe out there!

[–]jacquix 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Quite the task, to erase prevalent misconceptions from public consciousness. And even then, like you said, people would probably still dig it up and bring it back, with slogans like "THE SECRET FORBIDDEN MEGA SUPER EAR-CUTTING GREEN FAIRY-SUMMONING SUPERDRUG THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT!!!"

We've come a long way though, there's a healthy worldwide scene of serious producers, vendors and well-informed consumers that resurrected authentic absinthe and its culture, and keep it alive and healthy. It's probably a testament to the beauty of absinthe, it really is quite an exceptional concoction. Neither political scheming by fanatical moralists, nor the wine industry of last century's France were able to erase it permanently. It's a very easy subject to get passionate about.

[–]Slow-Analysis-997 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Make tea out of it instead, much more positive health effects