What is the legality regarding absinthe in the United States? Can I have it imported legally?
The law is fairly clear on this one…well, clear as law could be. Importation, production and selling of true absinthe using Artemisia absenthium – http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml#AbsintheAlcohol. However, should you somehow obtain some of this stuff, possession and consumption of it is legal, though it can be seized with a warrant. (Yeah, like I alluded to, the law is clear as mud.) In other words, you can’t make it since it’s illegal. You can’t buy it or import it yourself because it’s illegal. However, you’re free to drink it; that’s legal. There is some French company or something that I heard about a while back that will send you absinthe, presumably in unmarked bottles so that the US Gov doesn’t seize it – actually, supposedly, absinthe is relatively easy to buy on the ‘Net. Regardless, it’s an iffy proposition mainly because things going into the country have to be inspected by customs, and it’s luck of the draw whether your bottle gets
