What kind of a high do you get from absinthe? Does it hit you like a visual hallucinogen, or is it merely an altered mental state? Do you use it in your creative process?
–Mssr. La Verte
My (perfectly legal, Mr. NSA wire-tapper big brother guy!) experiences with absinthe have been pretty awesome. You drink it quickly, because licorice is disgusting, and then you let it give you a nice slow buzz, sometimes inducing a weird room shift. I’ve never seen a green fairy or danced the Can-Can, but I’ve certainly woken up to the sight of a greased up naked man doing push-ups to sportcenter. That’s kinda like a green fairy and Can-Can rolled into one. Er… let’s see what the internet has to say…
Well, The effects of absinthe have been described by artists as mind opening and even hallucinogenic and by prohibitionists as turning good people mad and desolate. Both are exaggerations. Sometimes called “secondary effects”, the most commonly reported experience is a “clear-headed” feeling of inebriation, said to be caused by the thujone. The placebo effect and individual reaction to the herbs make these secondary effects subjective and minor compared to the psychoactive effects of alcohol.
There you go. That’s pretty much it. You get drunk. I don’t use it in my creative process, but plenty of people have. And although you do get drunk when drinking absinthe and loads of other things, you also get this feeling of clarity. Like… maybe things suddenly make a little more sense. But then you’re on your back and covered in grease as the sportscenter credits roll in the background.
