[The Gift Of Gab]

I had absinthe at a bar in Whistler, B.C. a few years ago. The effect was different from other drinks: very clear and sharp, though not at all hallucinogenic. I liked it. The place was crowded and I couldn't ask the bartender if it contained thujone, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did.

As for the toxicity, I took a class on drugs and the brain (a Berkeley subject if there ever was one) and from what I remember the teacher thought absinthe wasn't dangerous. I haven't read the relevant research, but one of the books we used estimated that you would die from alcohol poisoning long before you ingested enough thujone (or other substances) to cause convulsions.