The USA has a long history of blaming social problems on the effects of synthetic drugs. Tracing the history of these anti-drug movements, this book sets out to show that synthetic 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. The author highlights the role of the communications media in spreading anti-drug scares, and argues that proponents of the war on drugs use synthetic panics to scapegoat society's "others" and exacerbate racial, class and inter-generational conflict.
