Does Absinthe Show Up On A Drug Test?

The famous green drink contains high alcohol content and various herbal ingredients. If a drug test is looking for alcohol, it will show positive.

Does Absinthe Show Up On A Drug Test?
Aug 10, 2018

Marie asked

Will absinthe show up on a drug test? Heard the hallucinogenic effects are a myth, but I’m afraid it might show up or cause a false positive of something?

At a glance

  • Absinthe is the name of a drink that contains a high percentage of alcohol, typically over 50%, and various herbs.
  • There are no drugs in absinthe that would show up on a drug test, except for alcohol (i.e. ethanol).

Answer

Absinthe Drink

The only thing that would show up on a drug test from absinthe is ethanol (i.e. alcohol).

'Absinthe' isn't a recognized drug, but a name used for a particular type of drink with extremely high alcohol content and is traditionally flavored with various herbs, notably wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and anise.

What Is In Absinthe?

Historically, there are reports of absinthe containing a compound known as thujone, a naturally occurring substance in wormwood (2). It was thought to have been mainly responsibility for the mild hallucinogenic properties of absinthe.

While thujone may have been present at one point in absinthe drinks, it no longer is. It is illegal under United States federal law for food or beverage products to contain thujone (total content must be under 10 parts per million). Wormwood extracts must, therefore, be processed (or cultivated) in a way that makes them thujone-free.

Aside from the thujone content of wormwood, it is considered a safe herbal product for consumption. In fact, the FDA lists wormwood (that is thujone-free) on its GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) list.

To summarize, products that classify or market themselves as absinthe in the United States are simply herbal flavored/infused liquors. They generally contain:

  • High ethanol (alcohol) content (>50%)
  • Anise flavoring
  • Wormwood (thujone-free)
  • Fennel
  • Various other herbs

Absinthe And Drug Testing

There are no drug tests available for any of the ingredients in absinthe besides ethanol (i.e. alcohol). Therefore, while you won't test positive for 'absinthe', you will test positive for ethanol if your blood, urine or saliva/breath is being evaluated while it is still in the process of being metabolized.

The ethanol contained in absinthe will be metabolized at the same rate as alcohol from other sources (e.g. beer, wine), which is 10-20 mL/hour. This roughly equates to one 'drink' per hour. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines 'One drink' as:

  • 12 ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol)
  • 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol)
  • 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (40% alcohol)

It is important to note that there are many factors that affect how fast your body will metabolize alcohol. These factors include:

  • Age
  • Weight
  • Gender
  • Food
  • Genetic variation

In addition, as 'absinthe' typically refers to a drink that has a high alcohol content, it may take longer than the standard 'one hour' to metabolize one drink (1.5 ounces of liquor).

Final Words

There are no known studies or reports of products classified or marketed as 'absinthe' causing a 'false-positive' on drug tests. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), the natural product that historically contained thujone (but is removed for food/beverage consumption) has no reports of causing false-positives either.

Your risk of failing a drug test for anything other than ethanol is extremely unlikely after consuming absinthe.

References
  1. Pharmacokinetics of Ethanol: A Review. Wiley Online Library
  2. What Is A Standard Drink? NIH
  3. Pharmacokinetics of ethanol after oral administration in the fasting state. PubMed
  4. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism No. 35; PH 371 January 1997. NIH
  5. Absinthe: How the Green Fairy became literature’s drink. BBC
  6. CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21. AccessFDA
  7. Use of the Term Absinthe for Distilled Spirits. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
  8. Absinthe and gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors. PubMed
  9. The Devil in a Little Green Bottle: A History of Absinthe. Science History Institute

Ready for a more personal experience with your meds?