Absinthe thujone is the chemical found in Absinthe’s vital ingredient, the plant referred to as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name. The compound thujone was partly responsible for Absinthe being banned during the early 1900s in lots of countries around the world and thujone remains tightly regulated today absinthesupreme.com, especially in the United States (or states united).
Thujone was considered to be much like THC seen in cannabis and Absinthe was alleged to be psychoactive and possess psychedelic effects triggering hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was favored by the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and many artists and writers claimed that Absinthe, the Green Fairy, gave them inspiration in addition to their genius. Famous Absinthe drinkers include Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, Baudelaire and Verlaine. Some point out that Van Gogh’s madness was caused by Absinthe and that he cut off his ear under its effect 
. Absinthe was even held accountable for a man murdering his family, although he had taken many other strong alcoholic drinks following the Absinthe.
Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the outlawing of Absinthe and charged France’s growing problems of alcoholism to the emerald liquor.
Is Absinthe Thujone Hazardous?
Today’s studies suggest that it was actually the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe that was dangerous rather than the thujone. Absinthe is two times as strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be utilized when taking in Absinthe. Thujone is simply found in minute quantities and must therefore cause no major unwanted effects or health conditions. The EU stipulates that booze with an ABV (alcohol by volume) level over 25% might only consist of a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as “bitters” can contain approximately 35mg/kg, it is not totally clear which class Absinthe suits but a majority of brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with a lot of being under 10mg/kg. In the US it is simply legal to purchase or sell Absinthes with trace amounts of thujone.
High doses of thujone could be dangerous leading to convulsions but you would need to drink a large amount of Absinthe to consume that amount of thujone and it will be impossible to drink that amount, you would be comatosed from alcohol until then!
Absinthe Formula
It is known that Henri-Louis Pernod, who owned the first Absinthe distillery, used the herbs wormwood, aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica root, dittany, star anise, nutmeg, juniper and veronica to make his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from these herbs is mainly responsible for La Louche, the clouding which happens when water is put into Absinthe. These herbs particularly the aniseed and anise are accountable for the distinctive aniseed or licorice taste of Absinthe and wormwood is mainly responsible for the bitter flavor. Absinthe is oftentimes used as bitters in cocktails.
There are lots of brands of Absinthe or Absinthe substitutes which were developed in the ban and so contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, however, many would say that Absinthe isn’t Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you want real Absinthe search for brands that contains wormwood or Absinthe thujone.