Truth Serums

[asdew]

I spose this would come under this forum, it said poisons, and this is close enough. Do the so called truth serums, sodium pentothal , scopolamine (probably spelled that wrong) and the like actually work? and where would i get them?

[Widigo]

I think this may be misplaced. I think there is a poison forum.

I perosnaly wouldn't know. It sounds too good to be true though, and kinda scary.

[shetlan]

You need to stop reading the conspiracy theories asdew. There is no such thing as a truth serum - which a simple google search would unveil.

The drugs often referred to as "truth serums" are simply barbituates (downers). The subject of the interrogation becomes more compliant because the drug makes him relax - it doesn't make him tell you anything. A person who knows what's happenning would continue to provide false information even when under the drug's influence.

I've seen people interrogated with the use of barbituates - their testimony is typically un-reliable if intelligible to being with.

Long story short, "truth serums" are no different than getting someone drunk and asking them questions. You wait till their senses are impared and start asking.

[Pikkle Juice]

shetlan has a point the so called "truth serum" just drops your grasp on reality its used as an interrogation technique because most people worth being interrogated are not used to being on drugs.

[Steve_TPF]

Originally Posted by Pikkle Juice

most people worth being interrogated are not used to being on drugs.

Hilariously true. I'm sure most career junkies could lie to the cops while high/stoned. A "straight" person experiencing their first trip would probably be far more compliant.

[shetlan]

Interesting thing about that.

Being a regular drug user doesn't typically do you any good. Those who have been drug users for extensive periods tend to be weak-willed individuals to begin with, a condition which is exasperated by the drugs in their system. In similar fashion, an alchoholic still gets drunk - it just takes more to get him there.

A person who's been trained to resist interrogation while under the influence of such drugs however would be able to resist. Consider the analogy of being "insane, but still sane enough to know it". You're trained to recognize the symptoms of the drug's effects; and resist or ignore them if possible, concentrating on saying anything and everything - except what your interrogator wants to know.

[Shalshaska]

Consensus is right but I bet with enough scopolamine I'll bet you could terrify 90% of people into telling you what you want, if you know how to act. Really terrible stuff that.

[Steve_TPF]

Originally Posted by shetlan

Being a regular drug user doesn't typically do you any good. Those who have been drug users for extensive periods tend to be weak-willed individuals to begin with, a condition which is exasperated by the drugs in their system. In similar fashion, an alchoholic still gets drunk - it just takes more to get him there.

My point was, most drug users are habitual liars anyway, and they're used to being high. A truth serum wouldn't change that.

[shetlan]

Originally Posted by Shalshaska

Consensus is right but I bet with enough scopolamine I'll bet you could terrify 90% of people into telling you what you want, if you know how to act. Really terrible stuff that.

Scopolamine was experimented with by assorted intelligence agencies in the 1950s and 60s. It's long since been found incredibly un-reliable if not totally useless as an interrogation aid.

A subject babbling gibberish is no better than one who refuses to speak.

Originally Posted by Steve_FTP

My point was, most drug users are habitual liars anyway, and they're used to being high.

That doesn't really change much. Spies are also habitual liars by nature and profession, and significantly better ones than your average stoner, but a skilled interrogator can still get what he wants out of them.

Being "use to being high" doesn't help you. If you're use to being drunk, aren't you still drunk? A schizophrenic is used to being insane, does that make him any more sane?

Secondly, a recreational drug user wouldn't take nearly the amounts he'd be dosed with as an interrogation subject.

[Steve_TPF]

Originally Posted by shetlan

Being "use to being high" doesn't help you. If you're use to being drunk, aren't you still drunk? A schizophrenic is used to being insane, does that make him any more sane?

Not qualified to comment on schizophrenia, but consider this: people have been caught drink-driving with a BAC that would render most people unconcious. Are they drunk? Definitely. Are they more capable than the average person with that much alcohol in them? Yes. Most people couldn't even stand at those kinds of levels. Obviously one's skill in lying would play a significant part in resisting interrogation, but a tolerance for drugs certainly wouldn't hurt.

Not that any of this matters anyway. We've already agreed there's no such ting as a "truth serum".

[shetlan]

Originally Posted by Steve_TPF

Not qualified to comment on schizophrenia, but consider this: people have been caught drink-driving with a BAC that would render most people unconcious. Are they drunk? Definitely. Are they more capable than the average person with that much alcohol in them? Yes.

That's not necessarally because of their practice in the field, but likely it's more geared toward their physiology. Some people have an in-born skill that allows them to handle more alchohol than other people. They just have a "talent" for drinking.

Example: I know a girl who's 22, 4'11", no more than 100lbs - and she can drink any biker under the table. She's not an alchoholic, she only drinks on Friday after work, and she'll only drink beer or straight vodka. She also remains reasonably lucid while she's drunk. I havn't the slightest idea how she does it, or what makes her capable of it, but I'm yet to find a man that can drink more than her.