Synthetic Panics: The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs

• NCJ Number: 203406
• Author(s): Philip Jenkins
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 258 pages
• Sale Source: New York University Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This review of the history and dynamics of anti-drug movements in the United States focuses on the most recent drug "panic" and its distinctive features, i.e., synthetic or designer drugs such as methamphetamine, PCP, Ecstasy, methcathinone, and "rave" drugs like ketamine and GHB.

Abstract

The book's critique of this latest drug "panic" focuses on the futile nature of attempting to deprive humans of ongoing efforts to construct chemicals that increase the pleasurable experiences of those who ingest them. It notes that "throughout recorded history, humanity has used drugs to alter mind and mood, and the principle of such experimentation is deeply rooted in human cultures." The distinctive feature of the current "synthetic panic" is that the drugs being targeted are not plant-based, like marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, but can be manufactured in laboratories, thus posing the potential for a pervasive chemically based orientation for managing one's moods and experiences. The author identifies the harms caused by efforts to implement zero tolerance for the ingestion of any drug that can be shown to cause harm to the human body when consumed in certain amounts, frequency, and duration. In showing the futility of such a policy, particularly where synthetic drugs are concerned, society embarks on a futile and socially destructive mission, since in the last quarter century science has developed a sophisticated understanding of the human brain that should open the doors to any number of new drugs with enormous potential to enhance pleasure and expand consciousness. This means that the "doorkeepers" of drug enforcement will continue to promote "panics" and intrude ever deeper into the monitoring and control of human behaviors. The more rational approach touted by this book is to focus on harm reduction in drug use through education and reasonable controls over the dispensing and use of all drugs under the concepts of the medical model. Chapter notes and a subject index