Yes, they purposefully went that way - as I said it's not a 1 to 1 adaptation of the comic, it fits the villainous turn/take on Talia, and I disagree that the movies made it famous - I knew of the drugging before the movie and was unaware of the retcon. Chances are if you weren't reading the comics and were aware of it you'd be more aware of the drugging than the retcon. I think Tucker made the right choice there