Suspected victims of drink spiking are more likely to be suffering from drugs and alcohol they have willingly consumed, according to Australian research.

Of 100 suspected drink-spiking cases reviewed in a West Australian study, none were found to involve being slipped a sedative or illicit drug.

What emerged instead was a concerning picture of excess alcohol and illegal drug use by people - usually young women - at the centre of these drink-spiking claims.

"The public's perception that it's a guy putting a sedative drug into a woman's drink, at a pub or a club, we just didn't find that at all," said Dr Mark Little, a clinical toxicologist at the Royal Perth Hospital.

"As a community, we have a bigger problem with illicit drug use and alcohol binge drinking than we do with drink spiking."