Question

Question from a textbook Plants and Society Chapter 24.

Absinthe was a liqueur that inspired a devoted following in the nineteenth century. It was banned in many countries when experimental evidence confirmed its toxicity. Recently, people are rediscovering the absinthe habit. How might the history of absinthe be useful to alcohol and drug education programs?

Answer 1

Absinthe, also known as Green Fairy, was linked to ilicit behaviour. It was accused to turning children into criminals. It was also considered to encourage loose morals and inspired murder.

However, recent studies on absinthe indicate that it does not cause any hallucinating effects on the individuals consuming it Although, the alcohol content of absinthe is way more than any other whiskey.

Absinthe is made up of anise, fennel and wormwood along with different herbs. this mixture needs to be diluted before consumption. the distillation process evaporates the herbal oils and alcohol separating the essence of herbal oils. the chemical that is supposed to be responsible for the hallucinogenic properties is thujone, secreted by wormwood plant. only in very high doses, thujone can be toxic. It acts as a GABA inhibitor, which blocks the GABA receptors in the brain causing convulsions. There exists no evidence that thujone causes hallucinogenic effects. Rather, a person will die because of alcohol poisoning before he/she experiences any hallucinogenic effects.

Hence, the history of is useful to alcohol and drug education programs since it provides the proper insight into the fact why it was banned in several countries during the 1900s due to the deaths and ilicit behaviour caused. But due to the extensive amount of studies performed on its preparation, it can be proved that those ilicit behaviour of individuals were not because of absinthe but because of the overdose of alcohol consumption. the history may prove to be useful to students in order to guide them away from consuming alcohol and give them knowledge about the harms caused by drugs to their body.