Hmm. I wasn't sure if it was a sliding scale or a case of needing to reach a tipping point for everything to go sideways and shitty. I skimmed that SciAm article (did Mr. van Gogh shoot himself? Really? The case for murder is way more plausible than I was expecting) -- but it was written in '89. According to Wikipedia, absinthe's good name was somewhat rescued in the '90s (legalized again, for example) thanks to some revisionist thinking regarding its toxicity. I don't know the details. I do know it's still a very different and less toxic product in the US (but thenewgreen swears it's not as good). So I don't know. Still handy when you need to sneak a flask in somewhere intolerable (a football game you don't want to be at, for example) but get much drunker than one flask should deal.