Editing Thujone (section)

===History===
The compound was discovered after absinthe became popular in the mid-19th century. [[Valentin Magnan]], who studied alcoholism, tested pure wormwood oil on animals and discovered it caused [[Non-epileptic seizure|seizures]] independent from the effects of alcohol. On this basis, absinthe, which contains a small amount of wormwood oil, was assumed to be more dangerous than ordinary alcohol. Eventually, thujone was isolated as the cause of these reactions. Magnan went on to study 250 abusers of alcohol and noted that those who drank absinthe had seizures and [[hallucination]]s. The seizures are caused by the '''(+)-α-thujone''' interacting with the GABA receptors, causing epileptic activity.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In light of modern evidence, these conclusions are questionable, as they are based on a poor understanding of other compounds and diseases,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lachenmeier|first1=Dirk|last2=Nathan-Maister|first2=David|last3=Breaux|first3=Theodore|last4=Luaute|first4=Jean-Pierre|last5=Emmert|first5=Joachim|title=Absinthe, Absinthism and Thujone – New Insight into the Spirit's Impact on Public Health|journal=The Open Addiction Journal|date=2010|volume=3|pages=32–38|doi=10.2174/1874941001003010032|doi-access=free}}</ref> and clouded by Magnan's belief that alcohol and absinthe were degenerating the French race.<ref>[[Barnaby Conrad III|Conrad III, Barnaby]]; (1988). ''Absinthe: History in a Bottle''. [[Chronicle books]]. {{ISBN|0-8118-1650-8}} Pg. 101-105</ref>

After absinthe was banned, research dropped off until the 1970s, when the British scientific journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' published an article comparing the molecular shape of thujone to [[tetrahydrocannabinol]] (THC), the primary [[psychoactive]] substance found in [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], and hypothesized it would act the same way on the brain, sparking the myth that thujone was a [[cannabinoid]].<ref name="thc"/><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Del Castillo J. |author2=Anderson M. |author3=Rubottom G.M. | year = 1975 | title = Letters to Nature: Marijuana, absinthe and the central nervous system | journal = Nature | volume = 253 | issue = 5490| pages = 365–366 | doi=10.1038/253365a0|pmid=1110781 |s2cid=4245058 }}</ref>

More recently, following European Council Directive No. 88/388/EEC (1988) allowing certain levels of thujone in foodstuffs in the EU,<ref>[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31988L0388&qid=1467286141813 European Council Directive No. 88/388/EEC, 22 June 1988.]</ref> the studies described above were conducted and found only minute levels of thujone in absinthe.