Carbuncle.Anesthesia said:
»You should really make a trip to Germany if you have never seen people get super messed up from drinking beer only >_>
Absinthe is legal there @.@
It's not the "real" absinthe of the Impressionist era though. You're not going to start hallucinating. You'll just be knocked on your butt faster, and that's not fun.
As far as I can tell from the wikipedia on Absinthe, it has not changed chemically since the Impressionist era. It's always been a wormwood-infused spirit, and it still is today.
The idea that it was ever a hallucinogenic drug is an urban legend, spurred by overzealous authorities and Hollywood. Below is a Wired article about a study that disproved the idea that Absinthe was ever a hallucinogen using pre-ban Absinthe.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/sorry-absinthe/
Gwydion Stone makes a great post below the article as well, debunking several Absinthe myths.