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Are the people who have been attacked actually being "shot up" by someone with a needle or is the needle part of the spiking a metaphor or it the delivery method unknown and people are just speculating that a needle was used to administer the "drug" or sedative into the victims system? If you know plz tell it can help women formulate a defense to these attacks in the future 174.235.82.84 (talk) 10:07, 7 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Well, the going theory is that none of this happened, as injecting into a vein of an unsuspecting moving target in a dark night club, first try every time, without anyone (victim or otherwise) noticing anything at all, is not exactly a realistic scenario. Of all the ways to drug someone, this one must be the hardest and least likely, borderline impossible. Aethyta (talk) 12:24, 7 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Could it be an intramuscular drug that's being used? I'm not sure if I'm a fan of how much this article focuses on the "mass hysteria" angle. Alissuhhh (talk) 16:23, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
You've still got to get a syringe past a bouncer, then stab someone with it and deliver an injection, in a crowded nightclub, without them or anyone around noticing, and without causing any noticeable bleeding. Not literally impossible but the chance of failure is high (IMO vastly more likely than success); it does not seem possible that any significant number of these attacks could've happened without someone getting caught. ExplodingCabbage (talk) 11:21, 17 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am pleasantly surprised to see that this obviously correct perspective has carried the day on Wikipedia even as the media credulously takes that idea of a needle spiking epidemic seriously.
There are so many ways this tactic could go wrong that would indisputably confirm a real case of attempted needle spiking: 1. get caught with the needle when searched by bouncers at the door 2. get spotted by witnesses 3. get caught on CCTV 4. victim notices they're getting stabbed with a frigging needle 5. screw up and physically injure victim, blood everywhere, get grabbed by bystanders from whose perspective you've just stabbed someone 6. get needle caught in victim's clothes or knocked out of your hand by a dancer, drop it, have it found later by staff or customers
But there's not been a single case of any of these failures, supposedly despite over 1000 successful needle spiking attacks taking place. Absolutely ludicrous. We can't rule out that someone, somewhere, has genuinely done this, but it would require a minor miracle (or whatever the evil version of a miracle is) to pull this off successfully and undetected; the idea that any significant number of attacks could've happened without detection is madness. ExplodingCabbage (talk) 11:16, 17 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Supposedly over 1000 cases in the UK now; we should update the stats in this article to reflect this
Social Panics & Phantom Attackers: A Study of Imaginary Assailants by Robert E. Bartholomew & Paul Weatherhead looks a really useful source here. There's an entire chapter on needle spiking, it provides history on needle spiking urban myths and social panics dating back to the early 20th century, as well as additional info and analysis on various specific incidents mentioned in this article such as the "Soccer Stadium" incident in Belgium. JaggedHamster (talk) 13:38, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
