Contextualizing the Drink-Spiking Narrative That “Everyone Knows”

• Author: Karen G. Weiss,Corey J. Colyer
• Published date: 01 March 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016817747011
• Date: 01 March 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Contextualizing the

Drink-Spiking Narrative

That “Everyone Knows”

Corey J. Colyer

1

and Karen G. Weiss

1

Abstract

Accounts of drink tampering and subsequent sexual assault are commonly shared among students

on college campuses, with more than a third of college students in one study claiming to know

someone who has been drugged without their knowledge. This phenomenon has produced two

schools of thought. A risk mitigation approach attempts to isolate and measure the risks of drink-

spiking as a real problem, whereas a social constructionist approach treats drink-spiking as a cultural

narrative, even a myth, that symbolizes broader social anxieties. This article critically assesses both

arguments and proposes a theoretical middle ground that attempts to contextualize drink-spiking

narratives as a site for critical inquiry. We argue that researchers are hampered by an unwillingness

to see drink-spiking as both a cultural phenomenon and a problem of consequence. In our critical

discussion, we propose a theoretical framework that contextualizes drink-spiking narratives that

“everyone knows” as learned, shared, and reified within select social spaces, namely, “party scenes”

rife with ambiguity and conflict. Within these contexts, narratives of drink-spiking are constructs

that have both utility and consequence. As such, drink-spiking narratives present a problem

worth inquiry.

Keywords

drink-spiking, social constructionism, narrative, party scenes

Drink-spiking (or involuntary consumption of a drug surreptitiously added to drinks) is a contentious

topic. Two contrary empirical schools of thought exist. The first school assumes that drink-spiking is

a serious problem and attempts to isolate its risk factors, so that these crimes might be prevented

(Girard & Senn, 2008; Lasky, Fisher, Henricksen, & Swan, 2017; McBrierty, Wilkinson, & Tormey,

2013; McPherson, 2007; Richer et al., 2015; Swan et al., 2017). The second school questions

whether there really is a problem at all, looking instead at how beliefs about drink-spiking persist

as a predatory crime narrative (Burgess, Donovan, & Moore, 2009; Donovan, 2016; Moore, 2009;

1

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

Corresponding Author:

Corey J. Colyer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, 313 Knapp Hall, Box 6326,

Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.

Email: corey.colyer@mail.wvu.edu

Criminal Justice Review

2018, Vol. 43(1) 10-22

ª2017 Georgia State University

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DOI: 10.1177/0734016817747011

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