6:40pm UK, Monday September 22, 2003

The Swiss parliament is to consider legalising absinthe - the alcoholic drink dubbed the 'queen of poisons' and 'liquid cocaine'.

The infamous green herbal liqueur often blamed for driving people mad has been banned in Switzerland for almost a century.

Absinthe: Swiss revival?

But it is also praised for its reputed medicinal virtues and appears set for a comeback.

Swiss deputy Jean-Claude Cornu has asked the senate, the Council of States, to consider legislation allowing the spirit to be distilled and traded freely once again.

In a motion to parliament, he said absinthe would bring great economic and cultural benefits for an isolated valley in the northern Jura hills, the Val de Travers.

It is claimed to be the birthplace of the alcohol, made from wormwood.

Absinthe was allowed back into the shops in much of western Europe in 1981 after the EU overturned a ban.

About 15,000 litres of absinthe are thought to be distilled illegally in the Val de Travers every year.

The drink was outlawed in 1908 after a factory worker killed his wife and two children in a bout of madness blamed on absinthe.