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Synthetic Panics: The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs - Hardcover

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9780814742433: Synthetic Panics: The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs

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Synopsis

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.

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About the Author

Philip Jenkins is Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of numerous books including Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in America and Synthetic Panics: The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs, available from NYU Press.

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Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780814742440: Synthetic Panics: The Symbolic Politics of Designer Drugs

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0814742440 ISBN 13:  9780814742440
Publisher: NYU Press, 1999
Softcover