The Truth Behind Truth Serum

Spy novels, conspiracy magazines, and science fiction movies have exposed us to the power of truth serums. These elixirs allow everything from state secrets to the location of valued assets to pour out of their subjects. The real power of these truth drugs varies greatly, and their purported uses are numbered. What truth is really behind this class of drugs?

In the 1910’s, Dr. Robert House noticed that the widely used anesthetic drug, Scopolamine, would put his patients into a state where they would start talking with little prompting, and say everything that was on their mind. In 1943, J. Stephen Horsley wrote a book in which he described his observations that people who were under the influence of narcotics were “uninhibited, talkative, and answered all questions that were asked of them.” Once the drug effect had worn off, the person had no memory of the ordeal. Horseley called the term "narcoanalysis" which we still use today to refer to the questioning of a person under the influence of narcotics.

Truth serums are a group of drugs particularly well suited for getting people to talk; not all narcotics have this effect. The actual chemical compounds used in truth serums are Ethanol alcohol, Scopolamine, Temazepam, and various barbiturates. These chemicals all decrease judgment and other cognitive function in general.

The most common misconception with truth serums is that the subject who’s under its influence cannot lie. In reality, the subject is just as likely to lie as they are to tell the truth. The effect is not far from simply being really, really, drunk. For this reason the value of anything learned from a person under the influence of a truth serum is always questionable.

The reported use of these drugs throughout history has always been sketchy. Truth serums and their use is considered torture under international law and is banned in virtually every country. It would be foolish however to think this means they are never used. The CIA, KGB, CBI, and various other covert agencies are known to have at least experimented with the drugs. In 1963 the US Supreme Court ruled that a confession gained from someone under the influence of a truth serum was coerced, and therefore inadmissible. With this ruling, most interest in truth serums was lost. Outside the legal system, they still had their use in getting people to talk nevertheless.

In the 1950’s, the CIA had a secret project called MKULTRA. The purpose of the project was to learn about how to exert mind-control power over subjects and secondly, the use of chemicals during interrogation. The project was scrapped after its existence became public and created a PR nightmare for the government. The studies did have results, however. On the interrogation side of things, Scopolamine was found to be very effective just as Dr. House had noted 40 years before.

Inside the KGB, a defector claimed that a drug code named SP-17 was commonly used and had great results. He claimed it had no taste, smell, color, or side effects (aside from the desired ones, of course). When the drug wore off, the subject would have no memory of being drugged. The now assassinated ex-FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko stated that Russian presidential candidate Ivan Rybkin was drugged with SP-17 during the election. After being allegedly kidnapped and drugged, Rybkin dropped out of the race.

The Indian Secret Service, CBI, are well known to use an unknown drug on interrogation subjects to help extract information. The CBI did not publicize this until recently, when they announced they would use a truth serum on the sole surviving militant from the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai. They didn't detail what their "truth serum" was comprised of.

We will most likely never know how prevalent the use of truth serums are. Terrorist attacks in the recent years have spurred conversation about their possible benefits and legalization. In the mean time, as someone once said, it's only illegal if you get caught.

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