dienasgramata:

Thujone has been suggested as the neurotoxic cause of absinthism. This syndrome characterized by addiction, hyperexcitability, and hallucinations was caused by chronic use of absinthe, an alcoholic drink made with an extract from wormwood; thujone makes up 40-90% (by weight) of the essence of wormwood. The debilitating illness suffered by Vincent Van Gogh during the last decade of his life has been linked to absinthism. The toxicity of thujone was responsible for the eventual ban of absinthe at the beginning of this century (Bonkovsky et al., 1992; Baggott, 1993).

In a recent case, a male subject drank about 10 ml of essential oil of wormwood under the impression that it was in fact absinthe which he had learned of on the Internet/World Wide Web. He was found several hours later agitated, incoherent, and disoriented. He improved with treatment but subsequently acute renal failure developed (Reese, 1997).