Synthetic Panics

The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs

By: Philip Jenkins

Write A Review

Paperback | 31 July 1999

At a Glance

Paperback
248 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.86 x 15.24 x 1.5

Paperback

RRP $64.99

$63.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $15.94 with

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

America has a long history of drug panics in which countless social problems have been blamed on the devastating effects of some harmful substance. In the last forty years, such panics have often focused on synthetic or designer drugs, like methamphetamine, PCP, Ecstasy, methcathinone, and rave drugs like ketamine, and GHB. Fear of these substances has provided critical justification for the continuing "war on drugs."
Synthetic Panics traces the history of these anti-drug movements, demonstrating that designer chemicals inspire so much fear not because they are uniquely dangerous, but because they bring into focus deeply rooted public concerns about social and cultural upheaval. Jenkins highlights the role of the mass media in spreading anti-drug hysteria and shows how proponents of the war on drugs use synthetic panics to scapegoat society's "others" and exacerbate racial, class, and intergenerational conflict.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Note on Usage	p. ix
Abbreviations	p. xi
Synthetic Panics	p. 1
Speed Kills	p. 29
Monsters: The PCP Crisis, 1975-85	p. 54
Suppressing Ecstasy: The Designer Drug Crisis	p. 76
The Menace That Went Away: The Ice Age, 1989-90	p. 95
The CAT Attack, 1993-94	p. 117
Redneck Cocaine: The Methamphetamine Panic of the Nineties	p. 132
Rave Drugs and Rape Drugs	p. 160
The Next Panic	p. 183
Abbreviations in Notes	p. 199
Notes	p. 201
Index	p. 239
About the Author	p. 247
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Synthetic Panics

The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Social Issues & Processes

Hooked

Inside the murky world of Australia's gambling industry

The Breath of the Gods

The History and Future of the Wind

No Is Not a Lonely Utterance

The Art and Activism of Complaining

Woke Is Dead

How common sense triumphed in an age of total madness

The State and the Soldier

A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States

Code of Silence

How Australian Women Helped Win the War

Muster Dogs

The Next Generation: The new 2025 companion picture book for animal lovers and fans of the ABC television series

Turbulence

Australian Foreign Policy in the Trump Era

Enshittification

Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It

Shy Girl

Read the femgore revenge novel that EVERYONE is talking about!

Sanctuary

Decolonial Psychology

1st Edition - Academic and Activist Perspectives

Public Sociology

5th Edition - An Introduction to Australian Society

Payback Vol. 2 – The Executioners

How history's deadliest men delivered death.

Unfinished Revolution

The feminist fightback

Decolonizing Language and Other Revolutionary Ideas

Good Energy

The Surprising Connection Between Glucose, Metabolism and Limitless Health

The Dogs that Made Australia

The fascinating untold story of the dog's role in building a nation from the Whitely Award winning author of The Fera

Saving 6

Epic, emotional and addictive romance from the TikTok phenomenon

Redeeming 6

Epic, emotional and addictive romance from the TikTok phenomenon

Women Don't Owe You Pretty

The record-breaking best-selling book every woman needs

Suburban True Crime

Australian cases you'll never forget and some you've never heard of

The Strange Death of Europe

Immigration, Identity, Islam

Monsters

What Do We Do with Great Art by Bad People?

This product is categorised by