Does truth serum really work?

Question

If so...why isn't it used more commonly?

Answer 1

The "truth serum" category, including ethanol (ethyl alcohol), scopolamine, sodium amytal, and Sodium Pentothal.

Does truth serum really work?

The short answer is "no." The long answer is "yesssssssssssss." It basically depends upon the purpose the administrator/operator hopes to achieve. There are actually two possible reasons why truth serum may be administered.

One reason is to extract accurate and reliable information, in an almost mechanical fashion. In spy novels and television myths, there seem to be much luck with this. But in reality, it simply doesn't work!

The second reason involves discovering the person's weaknesses, attitudes, etc, that can be exploited and manipulated. This secondary information reveals insights into how better to gather even more specific information. These sort of techniques are likely to be used by government intelligence agencies (and sub-contractors), as well as certain high-level law enforcement agencies. If properly administered and interpreted then, the results can be quite useful.

1. It can remove your inhibitions against talking—in general. The problem is, you can be led to say just about anything desired. Truth serum is a ultra-short-acting barbiturate (i.e.,Thiopental Sodium, an anaesthetic induction agent ). At an appropriate dosage, you get just enough neural inhibitory effect to create an alcohol-like disinhibition of normal behavioral restraints. At a higher dosage, but not high enough to cause unconsciousness, you may create a stupor and inhibit independent thought and action to a greater extent. The result is that you become more suggestible and less willful. A context for either recalling memories or constructing new ones may then be created by an operator.

While a drunk person may be more likely to confess their secrets—they are not incapable of lying—nor will they necessarily share any information that is asked of them. All of these truth serums work in the same manner: They depress the central nervous system and interfere with judgment and higher cognitive function. A person in such a state tends to regurgitate a cocktail of information—which is a blend of facts and fantasy—with many details exaggerated or omitted. This approach is unreliable.

2. The whole point of using drugs in an interrogation is to give the interrogator an edge over the victim/prisoner. Getting someone into a drunken or disorientated state makes it easier to trick and cajole, and can be used to extract secondary information that gives you leverage over the person later on.

So you may not get someone to loosen up about the secrets that you want to find out about—however, you may be able to influence the person to reveal personal weaknesses: childhood, sexual history, personal problems, medical problems. Later, those weaknesses can be exploited to extract even more information.

Did you know...?

In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that a confession produced under the influence of truth serum was unconstitutionally coerced, and therefore inadmissible. After that, the use of such drugs fell rapidly from popularity in the U.S.. But truth serums may not be gone for good, as the Supreme Court asserted shortly after 9/11 that terrorism may require "heightened deference to the judgments of the political branches with respect to matters of national security."

Answer 2

Nope - it doesn't work on big lies. If there is a lot riding on the lie such as human lives then nothing except torture will do. There's a breaking point for all humans in physical pain. Unfortunately this has been well known since the beginning of humankind. Pentobarbital can be used to extract small lies in same manner as alcohol as when someone, "spills their guts", except the person remains more coherent. It is also ineffective on some people especially if they're aware of the drug and it's effects. I wonder if it's possible to use a powerful hallucinogen. If the person believes he is in a different reality then telling the truth won't matter to them. I imagine it would take some psychological coaching to achieve this, if it's even possible.

Answer 3

It "works" in that people are more likely to tell you anything you want to know, and a few things you don't. Basically it doesn't force you to tell the truth but it lowers your inhibitions to the point where you just don't care that you're not supposed to tell whatever it is the interrogator wants to know. I assume it's a bit like being drunk only far more intense.

I assume it's not used more because it's not terribly reliable. Too little of the drug and the person can resist, too much and they want to tell you *everything* about anything at all, whether you asked about it or not--in other words it's hard to get anything out of them because they're so doped up they can't focus.

There's probably some sort of regulations against it also but that's never stopped any government from doing anything anyway. I'd say that while they may like to claim they don't use it often because it's regulated or against some law it's probably more likely not used for the reasons I mentioned.

Answer 4

They still do truth serum tests in India on suspects. Only the name appplied is Narco Analysis. It's a primitive method hanging onto its being a scientific-sounding test.

Answer 5

Because Captain Spock has a patent on it, and won't sell it.
There's no 'effective' truth serum

Answer 6

It is a powerful narcotic like substance that is only effective too a degree. Anyway, police can not use even a polygraph on a suspect without his permission. Also, any such evidence would not be admissible.
This type use is more in line with intelligence gathering, though it is probable illegal for the CIA to use.

Answer 7

"Drugs used for this purpose have included ethanol, scopolamine, and the anaesthetic induction agent sodium thiopental (more commonly known as sodium pentothal); all sedatives that interfere particularly with judgment and higher cognitive function. "

"Information obtained by publicly-disclosed truth drugs has been shown to be highly unreliable, with subjects apparently freely mixing fact and fantasy. Much of the claimed effect relies on the belief of the subject that they cannot tell a lie while under the influence of the drug."

Answer 8

Imagine you live in some backward town and you tell the truth all the time and you walk into a caff and start talking about how that truck outside sucks cause of the big gun rack and on the back the sticker that says "I lichen those that say my Tuck sucks" because it can become deadly over time.

Answer 9

hey that gave me an idea why don't they use it when cops take people in for questioning? I think it really does work!