Is Absinthe legal in the United States?
Yes, conditionally. While there is no law that prohibits absinthe by name, any drink that contains in excess of 10ppm of thujone is prohibited from being imported into, or produced for sale and consumption in, the United States. This is the same as the European Union limit for products labeal as absinthe. NOTE: No regulations have changed. Prior to May 2007 it was not widely known that the tolerance for official method of thujone analysis—10ppm—is such that it effectively legalizes many European absinthes. This was a major breakthrough. It also means that a number of pre-ban era absinthes would be legal in the US by modern standards, including the definitive premium absinthe brand, Pernod Fils. Most of the laws that impact absinthe in the US are out-dated, convoluted, un-evenly enforced and misunderstood, even by those charged with enforcing them. Due to recent changes in the understanding of these regulatory issues, genuine absinthe is once again reappearing legally in the US market.
