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Truth serum is a term given to any of a number of different sedative or hypnotic drugs that are used to induce a person to tell the truth. Truth serums cause a person to become uninhibited and talkative, but they do not guarantee the veracity of the subject.

In 1943, J. Stephen Horsley published a book in which he described the psychotherapeutic method of narcoanalysis. By chance, he observed that persons who were under the influence of narcotics were uninhibited, talkative, and answered all questions that were asked of them. A narcotic is a drug that dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces sleep. Persons who were under the influence of narcotics entered a hypnotic-like state and spoke freely about anxieties or painful memories. Once the drug effect had worn off, the person had no recollection of what he or she said. Horseley coined the term "narcoanalysis." Narcoanalysis has since been used to assist in the diagnosis of several different psychiatric conditions.

The term "truth serum" has been applied to drugs that are used in narcoanalysis. This term is a misnomer in two ways: the drugs used are not serums and truthfulness is not guaranteed. Although inhibitions are generally reduced, persons under the influence of truth serums are still able to lie and even tend to fantasize. Courts have ruled that information obtained from narcoanalysis is inadmissible.

Narcoanalysis is not used in the United States as an interrogation method. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal law enforcement agencies object to the use of truth drugs, preferring instead to use psychological methods to extract information from suspects or prisoners. The United Nations considers the use of truth drugs to be physical abuse and, therefore, a form of torture. The issue was revisited in 2002, when some authorities, including former Central Intelligence Agency and FBI chief William Webster, frustrated by the lack of forthcoming information from suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban members held at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, advocated administering narcoanalysis drugs to uncooperative captives. United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld asserted that narcoanalysis is not used by United States military and intelligence personnel, but suggested that other countries have made use of the technique in the interrogation of suspected terrorists.

Drugs used as truth serums. Two of the most commonly used truth serums are members of the barbiturate drug class. Barbiturates are sedatives and hypnotics that are created from barbituric acid. They are divided into classes according to the duration of sedation: ultrashort, short, intermediate, and long. Ultrashort-acting barbiturates are used as anesthetics whereas long-acting ones are used to treat convulsions (anticonvulsive). Barbiturates are controlled substances due to their high potential for abuse and for addictive behavior.

Sodium pentothal (pentothal sodium, thiopental, thiopentone) is an ultrashort-acting barbiturate, meaning that sedation only lasts for a few minutes. Sodium pentothal slows down the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and slows down (depresses) the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) activity. Sedation occurs in less than one minute after injection. It is used as a general anesthetic for procedures of short duration, for induction of anesthesia given before other anesthetic drugs, as a supplement to regional anesthesia (such as a spinal block), as an anticonvulsive, and for narcoanalysis.

Sodium amytal (amobarbital, amylobarbitone, Amytal) is an intermediate-acting barbiturate. Sedation occurs in one hour or longer and lasts for 10 to 12 hours. Sodium amytal depresses the central nervous system. It is used as a sedative, hypnotic, and anticonvulsive and for narcoanalysis. When sodium amytal is used for narcoanalysis it may be called an "Amytal interview."

Scopolamine (hyoscine) is an anticholinergic alkaloid drug that is obtained from certain plants. Anticholinergic drugs block the impulses that pass through certain nerves. Scopolamine affects the autonomic nervous system and is used as a sedative, to prevent motion sickness, to treat eye lens muscle paralysis (cycloplegic), and to dilate the pupil (mydriatic).

Further Reading

Books

Horsley, J. Stephen. Narco-Analysis. A New Technique in Short-Cut Psychotherapy: A Comparison with Other Methods and Notes on the Barbiturates. New York: Oxford University Press, 1943.

Periodicals

Johnson, K. and R. Willing. "Ex-CIA Chief Revitalizes 'Truth Serum' Debate." USA Today. (April 26, 2002): 12a.

Romanko, J.R."Truth Extraction." New York Times Magazine. (November 19, 2000): 54.

Any of various hypnotic or anesthetic drugs, such as scopolamine or thiopental sodium, used to induce a subject under questioning to talk without inhibition.

A common name for any of several sedatives administered intravenously in subjects to elicit information that may have been repressed. It has been used successfully to help identify amnesia victims.

A truth drug or truth serum is a psychoactive medication used to obtain information from subjects who are unable or unwilling to provide it otherwise. The unethical use of truth drugs is classified as a form of torture according to international law.^[1] However, they are properly and productively used in the evaluation of psychotic patients in the practice of psychiatry.^[2] That application was first documented by Dr. William Bleckwenn in 1930,^[3] and it still has selected uses today. In the latter context, the controlled administration of intravenous hypnotic medications is called "narcosynthesis" or "narcoanalysis." It may be used to procure diagnostically—or therapeutically—vital information, and to provide patients with a functional respite from catatonia or mania.^[4][5]

Contents 1 Active chemical substances 2 Reliability 3 Use by country 3.1 India 3.2 Russia 3.3 United States 4 See also 5 Further reading 6 References

Active chemical substances

Amobarbital, one of chemical compounds that can be used as a "truth drug"

Sedatives or hypnotics that alter higher cognitive function include ethanol, scopolamine, 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, temazepam, and various barbiturates including sodium thiopental (commonly known as sodium pentothal) and sodium amytal (amobarbital) (see figure at right).^[6]

Reliability

According to prevailing medical thought, information obtained under the influence of intravenously-administered sodium amytal can be unreliable; subjects may mix fact and fantasy in that context.^[7] Skeptics imply that much of the claimed effect of the drug relies on the belief of the subject that he or she cannot tell a lie while under its influence.^[8][9] Some observers also feel that amobarbital does not increase truth-telling, but merely increases talking; hence, both truth and fabrication are more likely to be revealed in that construct.^[10]

Use by country

India

India's Central Bureau of Investigation has used intravenous barbiturates for interrogation.^[11] One such case in which the CBI has used these techniques is the Noida double murder case. For many criminal cases, the use of these methods may violate the right against self incrimination.^[12] On May 5, 2010 the Supreme Court of India in the case "Smt. Selvi vs. State of Karnataka" held that narco, polygraph (also called Lie-detector) and brain mapping tests to be unconstitutional as they violate article 20(3) of the Constitution (which says that a person can not be compelled to be a witness against himself).^[13]

Russia

A defector from the biological weapons department 12 of the KGB "illegals" (S) directorate (presently a part of Russian SVR service) claimed that a truth drug codenamed SP-117 was highly effective and has been widely used. According to him, "The 'remedy which loosens the tongue' has no taste, no smell, no colour, and no immediate side effects. And, most important, a person has no recollection of having the 'heart-to-heart talk'" and felt afterwards as if they suddenly fell asleep. Officers of the S directorate used the drug primarily to check the trustworthiness of their own illegal agents who operated overseas, including even heroes of the service, such as Vitaly Yurchenko.^[14] According to Alexander Litvinenko, Russian presidential candidate Ivan Rybkin was drugged with the same substance by FSB agents during his alleged kidnapping.^[15]

United States

Truth drugs have been used by the Central Intelligence Agency as seen in the U.S. Army and CIA interrogation manuals declassified by the Pentagon in 1996.^{[citation needed]} In 1963 the US Supreme Court ruled that confessions produced as a result of ingestion of truth serum was "unconstitutionally coerced", and therefore inadmissible.^[16]

See also

• Microexpression
• Polygraph
• Project MKULTRA
• Project Chatter
• Project Bluebird
• Human experimentation

Further reading

• Brown, David. "Some Believe 'Truth Serums' Will Come Back", The Washington Post, Monday 20 November 2006; page A08.

References

1. ^ Brugger W: May governments ever use torture? Am J Compar Law 2000; 48: 661–678.
2. ^ Naples M, Hackett TP: The amytal interview: history and current uses. Psychosomatics 1978; 19: 98–105.
3. ^ Bleckwenn WJ: Sodium amytal in certain nervous and mental conditions. Wis Med J 1930; 29: 693–696.
4. ^ Tollefson GD: The amobarbital interview in the differential diagnosis of catatonia. Psychosomatics 1982; 23: 437–438.
5. ^ Bleckwenn WJ: Production of sleep and rest in psychotic cases. Arch Neurol Psychiatry 1930; 24: 365–375.
6. ^ Anonymous: Barbiturates. http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/A-Ce/Barbiturates.html, Accessed 9-21-2009.
7. ^ Op cit., Ref. 2
8. ^ Redlich FC, Ravitz LJ, Dession GH: Narcoanalysis and truth. Am J Psychiatry 1951; 107: 586–593.
9. ^ Mann J: The use of sodium amobarbital in psychiatry. Ohio State Med J 1969; 65: 700–702.
10. ^ Piper A Jr: 'Truth serum' and 'recovered memories' of sexual abuse: a review of the evidence. J Psychiatry & Law 1993: 3: 447–471.
11. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3661948/Mumbai-attacks-Militant-kept-in-underwear-to-prevent-suicide.html.
12. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/15/asia/15brainscan.php
13. ^ "No narcoanalysis test without consent, says SC". May 5, 2010. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-05-05/india/28319716_1_arushi-murder-case-nithari-killings-apex-court. Retrieved May 18, 2012. 
14. ^ Alexander Kouzminov Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services in the West, Greenhill Books, 2006, ISBN 1-85367-646-2 [1].
15. ^ Alex Goldfarb and Marina Litvinenko. Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB. New York: Free Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4165-5165-2.
16. ^ Townsend v. Sain, Sheriff, et al., 372 U.S. 293, 307-308

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