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« on: June 26, 2008, 09:03:03 PM »
from wikipedia....was reading the other day. US has limits on the alleged hallucinogen so i wouldn't call it anything other than booze. a 10$ bottle of vodka would be a better deal i think..
United States
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations allow Artemisia species in foods or beverages, but those that contain Artemisia species, white cedar, oak moss, tansy or yarrow must be thujone free.[59] Other herbs that contain thujone have no restrictions. For example, sage and sage oil (which can be almost 50% thujone)[54] are on the FDA?s list of substances generally recognized as safe.[60]
The prevailing consensus of interpretation of United States law and regulations among American absinthe connoisseurs is that it is probably legal to purchase such a product for personal use in the US. It is prohibited to sell items meant for human consumption which contain thujone derived from Artemisia species. (This derives from a FDA regulation, as opposed to a DEA regulation.) According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection literature, the importation of absinthe is no longer listed as "prohibited" but now subject to FDA and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approval like other distilled spirits.[61] Absinthe can be and occasionally is seized by United States Customs if it appears to be for human consumption and can be seized inside the US with a warrant.[62][63]
A faux-absinthe liquor called Absente, made with southern wormwood (Artemisia abrotanum) instead of grande wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), is sold legally in the United States and does not contain grande wormwood. This was the first US approval referring to "absinthe" on the front label; the front label says "Absinthe Refined" but the TTB classified the product as liqueur.
In 2007, TTB relaxed the US absinthe ban, and approved several brands for sale.[64] These brands must pass TTB testing, which is performed by the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry method[65] and TTB considers a product to be thujone-free if the FDA?s test measures less than 10ppm (equal to 10mg/kg) thujone.[66] A US distillery also began producing and selling absinthe, the first US company to do so since 1912. [67]