Truth Drug : Fact or Fiction? by Jongsstraw

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Truth Drug : Fact or Fiction?

POSTED BY: JONGSSTRAW
UPDATED: Thursday, December 20, 2007 16:28
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 11:12 AM

I always "heard" about sodium pentathol & other drugs all my life. Anybody here (doctors?) know the story about truth syrum? Does it work?
If it does work, why isn't it used for interrogations of terrorists? Seems a lot more humane than waterboarding or aggressive physical coersion. Could also be used in the criminal justice system and politics. Imagine that: political candidates spilling out the truth for once....criminal defendants admitting the truth before long, expensive, inconclusive trials. Oh what a world that would be!

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Thursday, December 20, 2007 11:51 AM

CITIZEN

I believe it's more like alcohol, in that it makes someone more talkative and lowers inhibitions, not necessarily more truthful. Getting someone blasted can be away of getting what they really think out of them, but it's not exactly reliable.

More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.

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Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:18 PM

FREDGIBLET

From what I understand it inhibits higher brain functions and since lying takes more thought then telling the truth it makes it much much harder to lie and much much harder to lie convincingly. Additionally it lowers inhibitions so you are less likely to think that you should be lying.

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Thursday, December 20, 2007 1:25 PM

CANTTAKESKY

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_thiopental

Quote:

Truth serum
Thiopental is still used in some places as a truth serum.[8] The barbiturates as a class decrease higher cortical brain functioning. Psychiatrists hypothesize that because lying is more complex than telling the truth, suppression of the higher cortical functions may lead to the uncovering of the "truth". However, the reliability of confessions made under thiopental is dubious; the drug tends to make subjects chatty and cooperative with interrogators, but a practiced liar or someone who has a false story firmly established would still be quite able to lie while under the influence of the drug.[citation needed]

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Aude sapere (Dare to know). -- Samuel Hahnemann, M.D., founder of homeopathy

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Thursday, December 20, 2007 3:16 PM

JONGSSTRAW

Thanks everybody for posting your knowledge of these drugs. I'm still hoping for a doctor to chime in with medical expertise, but I think all your answers are correct. Seems to me that if it's been around for 40+ years, they would have, or should have by now developed a way to refine it to the point that it can be a reliable and useful tool. Although many of you likely consider me a neo-con neaderthal based on my political & social issues posts... for the record, the thought of America commiting any sort of torture is quite abhorrent to me. I know there's been a bunch of sick bastards who have admitted their individual guilt in these disgusting matters, but I really have a hard time walking around as a middle-class family man kinda knowing or fearing the worst that our "people" have either approved or participated in these sub-human acts.

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Thursday, December 20, 2007 4:28 PM

KIRKULES

Quote:
Originally posted by citizen:
I believe it's more like alcohol, in that it makes someone more talkative and lowers inhibitions, not necessarily more truthful. Getting someone blasted can be away of getting what they really think out of them, but it's not exactly reliable.

Buy me a couple of beers and I'll tell you anything you want to know. I can't guarantee it will be the truth, only the truth as I understand it.

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