POPULAR LORE HAS IT that absinthe, the potent wormwood-flavored alcohol, causes hallucinations, epileptic-like attacks, and bouts of madness for those who drink it. Scientists studying absinthe in recent years have shown that modern versions of the spirit contain too little thujone, the key psychoactive chemical present in the wormwood herb, Artemisia absinthium, to cause the reported psychedelic effects. But the myths about absinthe being more drug than drink persist in part because of century-old tales about famous artists and writers who heavily imbibed absinthe and vacillated between periods of high creativity and insanity.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/email/html/cen_86_i18_8618sci2.html