Absinthe: Behind the Emerald Mask

The International Journal of the Addictions, 17(6), 1015-1029, 1982

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Absinthe: Behind the Emerald Mask Donald D. Vogt, PhD Michael Montagne, PhD College of Pharmacy University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky 40506

Abstract

There are a number of approaches or paradigms which can be employed in the study of drug-taking behaviors and experiences. Some approaches are relatively singular and narrow in scope, being epistemologically related to a defined discipline. This study of the widespread use of absinthe in 19th-century France utilizes several descriptors (e.g., the social milieu, ritual of use, aesthetic experiences, personal experiences, and social perceptions) in addition t o the chemical and medical points of view to provide a holistic framework for the study of this unique social phenomenon. The popular consumption of absinthe, an aperitif, was perceived as a significant social problem, particularly in France, during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. The physiological effects of absinthe were believed to differ from those of most alcoholic beverages, or alcohol alone. Clinicians described an unusual syndrome, absinthism, which followed continual use of the liqueur. The pharmacological effects of absinthe appear to be dependent upon thujone, which is contained in a principal ingredient of the liqueur, oil of wormwood.

THE SOCIAL MILIEU Many visitors to the celebrated Parisian Exposition Universelle, in 1867, may have observed and vicariously participated in a social custom which seemed to be identified with la vie boherne. On the boulevards, vaguely between 5 and 1015 Copyright 0 1982 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.


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7 o’clock-the hour of absinthe-Parisians from all walks of life gathered to sit outside the cafks and sip absinthe (Guerard, 1959; Richardson, 197 la). This custom was not confined t o the fashionable Parisians o n the boulevards. In the old village of Montmartre, on the outskirts of Paris, “the sickly odour of absinthe lies heavy on the air.” Here, the hour of absinthe never seemed t o end. Not that this was the home of the drunkard, “but the deadly opal drink lasts longer than anything else, and it is the aim of Montmartre to stop as long as possible . . . and watch the world go by” (Richardson, 1971b). Artemisia absinthium (wormwood) has been employed since antiquity as an infusion in vinous beverages for its presumed medicinal qualities. One such medicinal formulation-absinthe-is alleged to have been “invented” by a doctor ordinaire, a Frenchman in Couvet, Switzerland, sometime before 1797. The preparation was locally celebrated for the marvelous cures which it effected. The formula was purchased by Henri-Louis Pernod in 1797. The Pernod family would continue its manufacture until well into the present century (Sanchez, 1948). At the same time, social acceptance of the liqueur, or at least a taste for the bitter aperitif, may have been acquired by French soldiers in the military campaign in Algeria (1 844-1847). Wormwood infused in wine was routinely used as a febrifuge (to reduce fever), and French soldiers may have returned with a taste for this bitter. If a taste for absinthe began as a plebian enjoyment, it became, by the 1870s, popular with literary figures, artists, musicians, financiers, and others from all walks of life and occupations. The liqueur was popularly believed to impart renewed activity to the brain, develop new worlds of ideas, expand consciousness, and thereby inspire noble works of imagination in literature and art. Further, absinthe was popularly believed to have aphrodisiac qualities. La vie de boherne of Paris in the period 1830-1914 was, perhaps, a result of literary and political revolution and romanticism. “The Bohemian way of life helped t o fulfill a need for excitement, colour and freedom. It allowed the young to express their individuality. It was some alleviation for the ma1 du siecle; it was a compensation for life under the bourgeois monarchy. It was part of the romantic creed” (Richardson, 197 1b). One popular view of the last decade of the 19th century focused upon the old Latin Quarter of Paris: Ever since the early Middle Ages, poets had been living among the students on the left bank of the Seine, near Notre Dame. Victor Hugo, ThCophile Gautier and Baudelaire had been there earlier in the 19th century.. . . the spirit of the Latin Quarter was still the same: free, anti-authoritarian, rebellious, comradely and always lively. . . . Eccentricity, exaggeration and flamboyance were part of the normal pattern of life amid the Bohemians of the Latin Quarter. This

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life also had its darker side. Absinthe was cheap and dangerous; drug taking was already a [social] problem and ether addiction, morphinomania and opium smoking made their ravages among many young men who sought for new sensations in the name of Art. The district claimed its toll of victims and more than one provincial family mourned a son who had succumbed to the lure of the quarter and there disappeared, after becoming a human wreck from drink and drugs, who would haunt the cafis and scrounge a miserable living until illness or suicide ended his life. (Rudorff, 1972, pp. 148-149) This melodramatic view is certainly an overstatement, reflecting popular bias. Many artistic figures of that age experimented with hashish, opium, absinthe, and other drugs o n an intermittent basis. Such experiences did not diminish the careers of The‘ophile Gautier, Oscar Wilde, GCrard de Nerval, Vincent Van Gogh, Charles Baudelaire, and many others. These drugs have also been used by many contemporary artists, musicians, and writers to enhance their work (Haining, 1975). In fact, the existence of some works of art and literature is dependent upon these very experiences: the nature of a drugtaking experience being the focal point for the content, style, and emotion of the artistic work (Ebin, 1961; Kimmens, 1977). An example is Coieridge’s Kubla Khan, which was at least conceptualized while under the influence of opium (Lowes, 1927).

ESSENCE AND RITUAL Absinthe was a liqueur containing essentially oils of wormwood, angelica, anise, marjoram, and calamus. It was prepared by steeping the aromatic herbs in alcohol, distilling the spirit, and adding coloring and flavoring (Dick, 1880; Emerson, 1908: Remington et al., 1918). An inferior substitute could be made by combining the oil of wormwood, alcoholic extracts of various herbs, and coloring in alcohol without distillation. The absinthe ordinaire contained 47.66% alcohol; the demi-fine, 68%; and the absinthe-Suisse, 80.66% alcohol. Because of the high concentration of alcohol necessary for keeping the essential oils in solution, absinthe was seldom consumed neat (undiluted). Instead, it was usually diluted with 5 parts of water. The preparation of absinthe for libation was performed in a stylized manner. One simple service was t o drip the water over a lump of sugar held on a perforated spoon over the serving glass containing the liqueur. A classical service for absinthe is described as follows: A wine glass especially made for serving absinthe is used, A crystal colander (strainer or dripper) is mounted over the glass. Over the holes in the bottom of the colander one places a lump of sugar, then crushed ice. One and one-half ounces of absinthe


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are poured over the ice and sugar, then an ounce of anise (essence) is poured through the colander. Finally, a sufficient amount of water is dripped through to fill the wine glass. As the water drips through, the absinthe changes in color from emerald to opal (Sanchez, 1948). Particular care was exercised in the manufacture of the liqueur to obtain the proper shade of olive-green in the color of the product and t o ensure that the liqueur whitened well when mixed with water. The public appears t o have been very discriminating in these matters. Investigations revealed that if manufacturers of the liqueur found their product to be aesthetically lacking in terms of color or color changes, they did not hesitate to add indigo, tumeric, hyssop, nettles, aniline-green, or copper sulfate to achieve the precise tint of green required. Antimony chloride was sometimes added t o assure the necessary “whitening” demanded by consumers, the toxic potential notwithstanding (Am. J. Pharm., 1868; Lancet, 1873).

ABSINTHE FOR POETS A N D ARTISTS A 19th-century poet, Ernest Christopher Dowson (1867-1900), has left us with a personal description of the effects of absinthe. His experience is relatively devoid of popular biases and exaggerations concerning the effects of the liqueur. A contemporary of Dowson has quoted the poet as saying: “ ‘Whisky and beer for fools; absinthe for poets; absinthe has the power of the magicians; it can wipe out or renew the past, and annul or foretell the future’ were phrases which recurred in his discourse . . .” (Flower and Maas, 1967, p. 441). Dowson’s Absinthia Taetra appeared in Decorations: In Verse and Prose in 1899 (Longaker, 1968). The piece has been described as a sort of “confessions of an English absinthe-drinker.’’ In light of Dowson’s familiarity with the effects of absinthe, the piece cannot be dismissed as only a rhetorical exercise. Frequently during the winter of 1897, Dowson must have experienced all that the prose poem records: Green changed to white, emerald t o an opal: nothing was changed. The man let the water trickle gently into his glass, and as the green clouded, a mist fell away from his mind. Then he drank opaline. Memories and terrors beset him. The past tore after him like a panther and through the blackness of the present he saw the luminous tiger eyes of the things to be. But he drank opaline. And that obscure night of the soul, and the valley of humiliation, through which he stumbled were forgotten. He saw blue vistas of undiscovered countries, high prospects and a quiet, caressing sea. The


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past shed its perfume over him, to-day held his hand as it were a little child, and to-morrow shone like a white star: nothing was changed. He drank opaline. The man had known the obscure night of the soul, and lay even now in the valley of humiliation; and the tiger menance of the things to be was red in the skies. But for a little while he had forgotten. Green changed to white, emerald to an opal: nothing was changed. (Longaker, 1968, p. 143) In a jovial letter to a contemporary, Dowson observed: “On the whole it is a mistake to get binged on the verdant fluid. As a steady drink it is inferior to the homely Scotch. . . . awoke this morning with jingling nerves and a pestilential mouth on. . . . I understand absinthe makes the tart grow fonder. It is extremely detrimental to the complexion.. . . I never presented a more deboshed appearance than I do this morning . . .”(Flower and Maas, 1967, p. 35). Dowson described the disorientation which he experienced with absinthe in a letter to a friend: “The absinthe which I have consumed between nine and seven of the morning on Friday seems to have conquered my neuralgia, though at some cost to my general health yesterday. The curious bewilderment of one’s mind after much absinthe! One’s ineffectual endeavors to compass a busy crossing! The unreality of London to me! How wonderful it is!” (Flower and Maas, 1967, p. 175). This description of the absinthe experience is highly reminiscent of the effects of cannabis on the senses and the perception of reality. Two 19th-century artists have offered interesting depictions of the absinthe drinker. Edgar Degas’s Absinthe (ca. 1877) has captured on canvas a mood of numb dejection, resignation, disillusion, despair, and decadence which graphically characterized the popular prejudice against the liqueur. In the picture a rather plainly dressed woman is shown, with her companion, seated before a glass of opalescent liquid. She is shown with a sallow complexion. Her expression is resigned. Her arms hang listlessly at her side. Her eyes are devoid of expression (see Fig. 1). Edouard Manet’s unsavory figure in The Absinthe Drinker (ca. 1858-1859) was modeled by a ragpicker. The unkept figure is shown in a battered top hat with a massive shawl around his shoulders. The somber mood of the subject is accentuated by the eerie, green background, which is suggestive of a back-alley. The luminous glass of opal absinthe at his side and the empty bottle at his feet communicate a stark message (see Fig. 2). These artists did not glamorize, nor did they oversentimentalize the figures in these paintings. Rather, they were reflecting social perceptions quite vividly. It is not unlikely that these attitudes and expressions could be observed in the cafds and on the streets of Paris.


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Fig. 1. Absinthe, Edgar Degas (ca. 1877).

THE POPULAR MYSTIQUE A 19th-century novelist has mirrored the popular bias toward absinthe (Corelli, 1890). In the novel Wormwood, the principal character becomes “addicted” to the liqueur. After only one encounter with absinthe, a “sudden craving” overwhelms the subject: The action of absinthe can no more be opposed than the action of morphia. Once absorbed into the blood, a clamorous and constant


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Fig. 2 . ' The Absinthe Drinker, Edouard Manet (ca. 1858-1859).

irritation is kept up throughout the system-an irritation which can only be assuaged and pacified by fresh draughts of the ambrosial poison. What a sense of tingling expectation quivered in my veins as I prepared the greenish-opal mixture, whose magical influence pushed wide ajar the gates of dreamland. With what a lingering ecstacy I sipped to the uttermost dregs two full glasses of it-enough, let me tell you, to unsteady a far more slow and stolid brain than mine.. . . when at last I left the cafe and walked home . . . my way was encompassed with the strangest enchantments. . . . as I sauntered leisurely up the Champs

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Elys6es a bright green planet swung into dusky space and showered its luster full upon my path. Its dazzling beams completely surrounded me, and made the wet leaves of the trees overhead shine like jewels; and I tranquilly watched the burning halo spreading about me in the fashion of a wide watery rim, knowing all the time that it was but an image of my fancy. (Corelli, 1890, p. 121) On another occasion:

. . . I drank deeply and long of my favorite nectar; glass after glass I prepared, and drained each one off with insatiable and ever increasing appetite; I drank till the solid walls of my own room . . . appeared to me like transparent glass shot through with emerald flame. Surrounded on all sides by phantoms-beautiful, hideous, angelic, devilish-I reeled to my couch in a sort of waking swoon, conscious of strange sounds everywhere, like the clanging of brazen bells, and the silver fanfarronade of the trumpets of war-conscious too of a sort of double sensationnamely, as though myself were divided into two persons, who opposed each other in a deadly combat, . . and though I was hurried to and fro like a leaf on a storm-wind, among crowding ghosts, open tombs, smiling seraphs, and leering demons, I was perfectly content with the spectral march of my own brain-pageantry. (Corelli, 1890, pp. 141-142)

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This description of the use of absinthe, the development of absinthism, and the resulting effects upon an individual's life is very typical of that society's perception of and attitudes toward the liqueur and its use. Absinthism, the poisoning of the brain, was perceived as even possibly resulting from a single ingestion of the liqueur. Even though use was great and widespread among the social classes, absinthe was seen as an addictive poison, a Bohemian evil, producing a mental and spiritual degeneration throughout general society.

ABSl NTHISM : CLlN ICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DEADLY POISON The scientific community was less poetic in its description of the perils of absinthe. It was generally conceded that the physiological effects of absinthe appeared to differ markedly from the effects of alcohol alone. After drinking absinthe: ". . . you seem to lose your feet, and you mount a boundless realm without horizon. You probably imagine that you are going in the direction of the infinite, whereas you are simply drifting into the incoherent. Absinthe affects the brain unlike any other stimulant; it produces neither the heavy


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drunkenness of beer, the furious inebriation of brandy, nor the exhilarant intoxication of wine. It is an ignoble poison, destroying life not until it has more or less brutalized its votaries, and made driveling idiots of them” (Am. J. Pham., 1868). The “inevitable” result of continued, even moderate, use of the liqueur was absinthism. Heavy users were described as being noisy and aggressive during the periods of intoxication. These periods lasted much longer than drunkenness produced by spirits or wine. Intoxication was described as being followed by persistent and deep depression with a sensation of fatigue. Gradually, the digestion became deranged, and anorexia developed along with an intense thirst. The user was said t o experience a constant feeling of uneasiness, painful anxiety, sensations of giddiness, and tingling in the ears. Hallucinations of sight and hearing were experienced-fiery visions, rats, serpents, as well as auditory hallucinations of a startling and terrifying nature (see Table 1). The user was said t o exhibit fitful contractions of the muscles of the face and extremities. These contractions were often accompanied by tinglings, numbness, and a distinct loss of physical energy. Alopecia sometimes developed. With continued use, the body gradually became emaciated and assumed a yellowish tinge. Eventually the brain was affected. Sleep became increasingly difficult, disturbed by dreams, nightmares, and sudden wakings. Giddiness and headaches gave way to painful hallucinations and delirium. The victim exhibited a marked impediment in speech. Finally, there followed a complete loss of intellect, general paralysis, and death (Am. J. Pham., 1868; Remington et al., 1918). Of course, clinical descriptions of the absinthe experience and absinthism are clouded by the fact that it existed and was taken with alcohol. Consequently, it is difficult to separate the physiological responses to absinthe and dcohol, or the interactive action of both. It was observed that absinthe given to animals in small doses induces brisk muscular contractions, while large amounts provoke attacks in which the animal falls into tonic and clonic convulsions with stertorous breathing and involuntary fecal and urinary excretions. The convulsions are not prevented by depriving the animal of its cerebral lobes. “Absinthe gives rise to a kind of intoxication to which is added the phenomenon of epilepsy” (Biddle, 1895). A striking resemblance was seen between the fits produced by absinthe and those seen in idiopathic epilepsy (Boyce, 1893). In one animal study, a guinea pig was placed under a glass case with a saucer of oil of wormwood by its side. Another guinea pig was similarly imprisoned in a glass case with a saucer containing pure alcohol. A cat and a rabbit were each encased along with a saucer full of oil of wormwood. The rhree animals which inhaled the vapors of the wormwood experienced, first, excitement, and then epileptiform convulsions. The guinea pig which merely breathed the fumes of the alcohol became lively, then simply drunk. Upon this observation

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Reported Clinical Manifestations of Absinthe Use

Intermittent Use


Central nervous system: excitation followed by depression. Mood elevated, then depressed. Auditory and visual hallucinations. Increased libido.

Sustained (chronic) Use 1.

Skin: Sallow complexion Alopecia

2.

Sense organs: Damage to optic nerve Vertigo “Tingling” of external ears Numbness

3.

Central nervous system: Excitation followed by deep depression Auditory and visual hallucinations Cephalgia Clonic epileptiform convulsions Psychosis Dementia Ataxia Insomnia Loss of libido Noisy and aggressive behavior Anxiety Facial dyskinesia Glossolabial dyskinesia or paralysis

4.

Respiration: Stertorous

5.

Gastrointestinal tract: Dryness of mouth Nausea and vomiting (morning) Anorexia

6.

Kidneys: Uremia

it was sought to establish the conclusion that the effects of absinthe are seriously different from those of alcohol (Lancet, 1869). However, it should be realized that the effects of absinthe, apart from alcohol (ethanol), have not been clinically documented in humans.

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THUJONE: THE EYE OF THE TIGER Distillation of oil of wormwood (oleurn absinthii) was apparently known but information is lacking in most of the distillation literature of the 16th century. It was described by Hieronymus Brunschwig in 1500 and by Portae about 1570. Investigation of the oil was undertaken in the 18th century by Geoffroy (1721), Kunzemuller (1 784), Buchholz (1784), and Margueron (1798) (Gildemeister and Hoffmann, 1961). Identification of the constituents of the plant drug was begun by Braconnot (1815), Caventou (1928), and others early in the 19th century (Wehmer, 191 1). The first chemical investigation of the oil was undertaken by Leblanc (1845). The principal fraction of the rectified oil was determined t o be an isomer of camphor: CI0Hl60. This work was confirmed by the later investigations of Cahours (1 847), Schwanert (1 863), and Gladstone (1 864). Beilstein and Kupffer (1873) called this isomer “absynthol” (Gildemeister and Hoffmann, 1900). In 1892 Semmler showed that absynthol was, in fact, thujone, which was shown t o be identical with the tanacetone of tansy and the salvanol of sage (Gildemeister and Hoffman, 1963). High-quality oil of wormwood contains from 40% to 90% of thujone by weight. Thujone was identified by some authorities as “the cause of epilepsy in chronic absinthe drinkers” (Cushney, 1906). Today the thujones are generally classified as convulsant poisons. More recently it has been observed that there may be a relation between the physiological effects attributed t o absinthe use and experiences reported by users of cannabis (Castillo, Anderson, and Rubottom, 1975). It has been observed that acute intoxication by the ingestion or inhalation of cannabis is sometimes accompanied by hallucinations (both visual and auditory), ataxia, tremor and hyperflexia, increasing confusion, restlessness, disorientation, and delerium. The patient may exhibit elaborate paranoid delusions and severe emotional depression, which may persist for days after the acute phase of intoxication. Possible central nervous system depression may also be present (National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse, 1972; Tart, 1971; Weil et al., 1968). Investigators have compared the properties of thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol, believed to be the active principals of absinthium (wormwood) and cannabis (marijuana), respectively. It has been shown that both substances are terpinoids produced by similar biosynthetic mechanisms. Both substances have similar molecular geometry and similar functional groups available for metabolism. It has been suggested that both exert their psychomimetic effects by interacting with a common receptor in the central nervous system (Castillo et al., 1975). The similarities in molecular structure, described effects, social denouncement, and other related factors between absinthe and cannabis raise

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many interesting questions which indicate the need for a comparative study of the two (Montagne and Vogt, 1981). The structural similarities and hallucinogenic activities of thujone and those of other known hallucinogens may be inferred (Joyce and Curry, 1970).

A PERCEIVED MENACE The consumption of absinthe, and alcoholic beverages in general, did not escape the watchful eye of social reformers. As early as 1862 the use of the liqueur had reached such alarming proportion in France, especially in the army, that the Council-General of the Department of War presented t o the government the need to curtail the consumption of absinthe by means of a large increase in the excise duty on the commodity. It was reported that Swiss exports of absinthe to France after midcentury were in the magnitude of 2 million gallons annually. To this amount must be added indigenous production. Consumption was certainly significant. In 1872 the French National Assembly, acting upon a wave of popular concern, attempted to control the manufacture and sale of oil of wormwood, but these efforts fell short of their intended mark. The consumption of absinthe, and alcoholic beverages in general, continued to increase. In 1907 the quantity of pure alcohol consumed in beverages in France was calculated to be 128,940,800 liters. The mean consumption of alcohol per inhabitant was 3.31 liters in 1907 (Lancet, 1912). “It would seem that to the evils of simple drunkenness, surely sufficiently potent, there is often added in France the disasterous influence of a powerful nerve poison” (Lancet, 1903, p. 620). The problem of curbing absinthe and alcohol consumption in France posed a difficult question. How could one limit or diminish the consumption of these products without economically injuring a large part of the population who derived their livelihood from the alcoholic beverage industry? Legislators were well aware that their political futures could be damaged by overzealous restrictions. In 1874 there were approximately 382,980 drinking establishments in France. In Paris alone there were about 40,000 (Lancet, 1898). One observer remarked: “Paris has only 17,000 bakers, 14,500 butchers, but 33,000 drinksellers. In France, 160,000 employed in the production of bread; no less than 500,000 employed in cabarets” (Lancet, 1906, p. 1531). In 1905 the Belgian Parliament passed a law forbidding the manufacture or sale of absinthe. The Swiss passed similar restrictive legislation. In the United States the National Pure Food Board ruled that on and after October 1, 1912, the importation of absinthe was illegal, since such imports would come from countries where its manufacture and sale were restricted or forbidden, and because the product was injurious to the health.


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One author has described the prohibition of the manufacture of absinthe in France as the result of a national fear of impotence! The director and proprietor of a minor Parisian periodical, in 1914, is said to have initiated a campaign against the sale of absinthe based upon the following argument: Absinthe is an aphrodisiac, the continuous use of aphrodisiacs produces impotence; France is a nation of absinthe drinkers; therefore, France as a nation is becoming impotent. Many such arguments, combined with the hysteria which accompanied the war, contributed to the prohibition of the sale and manufacture of absinthe in 1915 (Sanchez, 1948, p. 162). However, the sale of other alcoholic beverages was not affected.

ABSINTHE IN THE CONTEMPORARY MILIEU Recently the authors purchased a 4-ounce package of Artemisia absinthium herb in a “head shop.” It was also discovered that Artemisia absinthium (wormwood) is available through many herbal apothecaries and health food stores. According to the usual instructions on the package, the contents are to be steeped in boiling water and drunk as a tea. The proprietor of the shop informed us that knowledgeable users of the herb steep the herb in alcohol instead of water. After further discussion, the proprietor sold us a packet of “Woodley Herber’s Original Anise Flavored ‘Absinthe9@”-further described as “the pure blend of the Herbs and Wormwood originally used to make the notorious ‘Absinthe’ liqueur, sold only for historical reference.” Renewed interest in absinthe may have been sparked, in part, by an article in PZayboy (Zolotow, 1971). The Playboy article, as a source of social knowledge, glamorized absinthe in a direct appeal to masculine interests: “Absinthe . . . is still widely bootlegged in Switzerland. . . . it is regarded as a necessity of life by many mountain climbers and skiers.. . . Ernest Hemingway has written the warmest tributes to . . . absinthe.. . he reverenced the peculiar effects of absinthe, right or wrong, on the mind and genitals, . . It was, indeed-one of the best and safest aphrodisiacs ever invented by the mind of men” (Zolotow, p. 175). Liqueurs manufactured by Pernod Fils, most notably Pernod 51, contain all the original ingredients of absinthe with the important exception of oil of wormwood. It may be possible that contemporary drug takers are steeping the wormwood herb in Pernod in order to obtain absinthe, though the alcohol content would have to be increased to keep the essential oils in solution. It is also interesting to note that thujone is found in vermouth. Many martini drinkers describe their experiences as being different, in some way, from typical alcohol experiences. Thujone may also exist in Chartreuse, Benedictine, and other liqueurs. The specifics, with regard to amount present and effects experienced after ingestion of these alcoholic beverages, are unknown.

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We have probably raised many questions in the readers’ minds as a result of our analysis of the absinthe phenomenon in 19th-century France. The nature and meaning of the absinthe experience are still not clear. The physiological and psychological effects of absinthe (thujone), separate from alcohol, are not well known. The extent of use in the 19th century, as well as today, remains to be assessed. With the flurry of “legal highs” that are being discovered by the subculture, does absinthe have the potential for being rediscovered and used? Perhaps a significant level of use already exists. Finally, the most interesting questions raised by our analysis concern some of the remarkable similarities between the absinthe phenomenon of the 19th century and the phenomena of hashish and cannabis use, both then and now. In a related article (Montagne and Vogt, 1981), we have begun a comparative study of these two drugs, the people who used them and the effects they experienced, and society’s perception and denouncement of them. Though absinthe may appear to be only a 19th-century phenomenon, it may have 20th-century implications. REFERENCES American Journal of Pharmacy. Absinthe. 40: 356-360, 1868. American Journal of Pharmacy. 44: 426, 1872. BIDDLE, J.W. Materia Medica and Therapeutics. Philadelphia: P. Blakson, Son, 1895, p. 153. BOYCE, R. The seat of origin and paths of conduction of the fits in absinthe epilcpsy. Br. Med. J. November 18, 1893, pp. 1097-1098. CASTILLO, J. del, ANDERSON, M., and RUBOTTOM, G.M. Marijuana, absinthe and the central nervous system. Nature 253: 365-366, 1975. CORELLI, M. Wormwood. New York: F. M. Lupton, 1890. CUSHNEY, A.A. A Textbook of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers, 1906, p. 426. DICK, W.B. Encyclopedia of Practice Receipts and Processes, 3rd ed. New York: Dick and Fitzgerald, 1880. p. 91. EBIN, D. (ed.). The Drug Experience. New York: Orion Press, 1961. EMERSON, E.R. Beverages, Past and Present, 2 vols. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1908, V O ~2, . pp. 176-177. FLOWER, D., and MAAS, H. The Letters of Ernest Dowson. London: Cassell and Company, 1967, p. 441. GILDEMEISTER, E., and HOFFMANN, Fr. In Edward Kremers (trans.), The Volatile Oils. Milwaukec: Pharmaceutical Review Publishing Company, 1900, p. 685. GILDEMEISTER, E., and HOFFMANN, Fr. In Wilhelm Treibs (ed.), Die Atherisehen bZe. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1961, Vol. VII, p. 693. GILDEMEISTER, E., and HOFFMANN, Fr. In Dieter Merkel (ed.), Die Atherischen Ore. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1963, Vol. IIlc, p. 276. GUERARD, A. France. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1 9 5 9 , ~311. . HAINING, P. (ed.). The Hashish Club: A n Anthology of Drug Literature. London: Peter Owen, 1975. JOYCE, C.R.B., and CURRY, S.H. The Botany and Chemistry of Cannabis. London: J. and A. Churchill, 1970, p. 90.


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