You’ve probably heard the legend. Absinthe, the emerald-green liquor linked to Vincent van Gogh and Oscar Wilde, was supposed to make you lose your mind. The blame fell on wormwood (Metaflora plant #917), a key ingredient containing a compound called thujone, long accused of causing hallucinations and madness. By the early 1900s, absinthe was banned across much of Europe and the United States.

Turns out, the story got a little carried away.

Modern testing shows that properly distilled absinthe contains only tiny amounts of thujone, far too little to cause those dramatic effects. Thujone isn’t completely inactive, but in real absinthe it’s present in trace levels. The more obvious factor was alcohol itself. Absinthe typically sits around 55 to 75 percent ABV, much stronger than most spirits. Drink enough of that, and strange behavior doesn’t need much explanation.

The myth was fueled by more than just chemistry. Heavy drinking was common at the time, some low-quality versions of absinthe were poorly made, and a sensational murder case helped cement its reputation. Add in moral panic and weak science, and the “Green Fairy” took the fall.

By the early 2000s, bans were lifted in many countries. Absinthe returned, and wormwood’s reputation softened.

So no, absinthe doesn’t make you hallucinate. But it can still hit hard.

Learn more: Science History Institute

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