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Sassafras root is still used to flavor traditional root beer, although since sassafras was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because of the carcinogenicity of its constituent safrole, most commercial recipes do not contain sassafras. Some commercial root beers do use a safrole-free sassafras extract.
Root beer is a beverage originally made from the root/bark of the sassafras tree, and the compound safrole is what gave it it's distinctive flavor. Safrole is banned in the US and the EU as a potential carcinogen, so companies have turned to using safrole extracts and artificial flavors that resemble it.