I have never had this drink...
Is it considered a liquor?
Why is it controversial?
I've heard a few things about it and my suggestion would be:
sex.
.
This is going to be a long reply because I'm copying this from Wikipedia but it answers your question perfectly...
Effects:
Absinthe has long been believed to be hallucinogenic, but no evidence supports this. Ten years after Dr. Magnan's experiments with wormwood oil, he studied 250 cases of alcoholism and claimed that those who drank absinthe were worse off than those who just drank alcohol, and that they experienced, among other things, rapidly brought-on hallucinations.[44] Few descriptions of these hallucinations exist from actual absinthe drinkers beyond a few quotes from poets after a long night of drinking. In one of the most famous, Oscar Wilde describes the feeling of tulips on his legs after leaving a bar at closing.[45] These beliefs got a boost in the 1970s when a scientific paper mistakenly reported thujone was related to THC and most likely had similar hallucinogenic properties based on its shape.[46] With the advent of usenet and web recipes 'trip reports' have been circulating for many years. These home recipes sometimes call for known hallucinogenic herbs in a mistaken attempt to recreate Absinthe's supposed hallucinogenic effects.
Today it is known that absinthe does not cause hallucinations, especially those described in the old studies. Thujone, the supposed active chemical in absinthe, is a GABA antagonist and while it can produce muscle spasms in large doses there is no evidence it causes hallucinations.
The effects of absinthe have been described by artists as mind opening and even hallucinogenic and by prohibitionists as turning "good people" "mad and desolate". Sometimes called 'secondary effects', the most commonly reported experience is a 'clear-headed' feeling of inebriation - a 'lucid drunkenness', said to be caused by the thujone and other compounds. Some, such as chemist/absinthe historian Ted Breaux, say that these effects may be caused by the fact that some of the compounds act as stimulants, others as sedatives, overall creating a neutral effect.[47] Most others feel that the placebo effect and individual reaction to the herbs make these secondary effects subjective and minor compared to the psychoactive effects of alcohol.
A study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol[48] concluded that a high concentration of thujone in alcohol has negative effects on attention performance. It slowed down reaction time, and subjects concentrated their attention in the central field of vision. Medium doses did not produce an effect noticeably different from plain alcohol. The high dose of thujone in this study was larger than what one can get from current beyond-EU-regulation 'high thujone' absinthe before becoming too drunk to notice, and while the effects of even this high dose were statistically significant in a double blind test, the test subjects themselves could still not reliably identify which samples were the ones containing thujone. As most people describe the effects of absinthe as a more lucid and aware drunk, this suggests that thujone alone is not the cause of these effects.
LEGALITY:
United States
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, "The importation of Absinthe and any other liquors or liqueurs that contain Artemisia absinthium is prohibited."[52] This runs contrary to FDA regulations, which allow Artemisia species in foods or beverages, but those that contain Artemisia species, white cedar, oak moss, tansy or Yarrow, must be thujone free.[53] Other herbs that contain thujone have no restrictions. For example, sage and sage oil (which can be almost 50% thujone[43]) are on the FDA's list of substances generally recognized as safe.[54]
The prevailing consensus of interpretation of United States law and regulations among American absinthe connoisseurs is that it is probably legal to purchase such a product for personal use in the U.S. It is prohibited to sell items meant for human consumption which contain thujone derived from Artemisia species. (This derives from a Food and Drug Administration regulation, as opposed to a DEA regulation.) Customs regulations specifically forbid the importation of 'absinthe'. Absinthe can be and occasionally is seized by United States Customs if it appears to be for human consumption and can be seized inside the U.S. with a warrant.[55][56]
A faux-absinthe liquor called Absente, made with southern wormwood (Artemisia abrotanum) instead of grande wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), is sold legally in the United States and does not contain thujone.
Malört, a wormwood-based liqueur, has been sold legally in Chicago for more than 70 years. The makers of Malört, however, state that the variety of wormwood they use contains no thujone.
In 2007, Viridian Spirits LLC released Lucid, an authentic absinthe made using grande wormwood (Artemesia absinthium), in the US. Lucid is reported to have a low enough Thujone content to pass US regulatory requirements.[57]
