This book analyses common perceptions about drink-spiking, a pervasive fear for many and sometimes a troubling reality. Ideas about spiked drinks have shaped the way we think about drugs, alcohol, criminal law, risk, nightspots, and socializing for over one hundred and fifty years, since the rise of modern anaesthesia and synthetic 'pharma-ubiquity'. The book offers a wide-ranging look at the constantly shifting cultural and gender politics of 'psycho-chemical treachery'.

It provides rich case histories, assesses evolving scientific knowledge, and analyses the influence of social forces as disparate as Temperance and the acid enthusiasts of the 1960s. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, the book will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of criminal law, forensic science, public health, and social movements.

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Reviews

“Drink Spiking and Predatory Drugging is an extremely well-researched, readable and provocative book. … this book will appeal to a wide range of academic audiences, as well as to non-academics interested in learning more about drug laws and crime stories. Above all else, readers will gain both sociological and historical insight into drug scares and the crime stories that have fuelled public fears and, ultimately, helped shape drug policy for well over a century.” (Karen G. Weiss, Medical History, 2017)

Authors and Affiliations

Bloomsburg, USA

Pamela Donovan

About the author

Pamela Donovan is a US sociologist and criminologist. She holds PhD in Sociology from The Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA. She has taught courses in social theory, criminology, victimology, and social problems. Her previous works include No Way of Knowing: Crime, Urban Legends, and the Internet (2004).

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: Drink Spiking and Predatory Drugging
Book Subtitle: A Modern History
Authors: Pamela Donovan
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57517-3
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York
eBook Packages: Law and Criminology, Law and Criminology (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-93491-1Published: 10 May 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-57517-3Published: 04 July 2016
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VIII, 294
Topics: Criminology and Criminal Justice, general, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law, History of Medicine, Sociology, general, Public Health, Youth Offending and Juvenile Justice

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

Front Matter

Back Matter

About this book