In films and books, during interrogation, the suspect is sometimes injected with a certain substance, after which he cannot withhold information, and tells everything to his pursuers. The serum of truth exists not only in the fantasies of some authors. In the 20th century, it was really used.
What is truth serum
The serum of truth has been of interest to people since ancient times. This name usually means a certain drug, the introduction of which is able to force a person to give out information that he does not want to communicate. Serum is featured in many literary works. As a rule, invented heroes who are under the influence of the drug remain lucid, but at the same time they become unable to lie to the question asked to them, or they have a passionate need to speak out all their thoughts.
For some time, real special services also worked with the truth serum. In reality, the drugs used to loosen the tongue of the perpetrator were psychotropic, and the perpetrator was altered during interrogation. This fact, as well as the fact that confessions often turned out to be fantasies, forced to stop using the serum.
Scopolamine
Scopolamine came closest to the truth serum described in the literature. They learned about his ability to force a person to tell information quite by accident at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, it was administered to women in labor as an anesthetic, and one day a doctor noticed how one of his patients, who was half asleep, gave her husband detailed instructions about where things were for a newborn.
Soon, scopolamine began to be positioned as a substance capable of loosening the tongue of any person. For some time it was used during interrogations by the police, but it was soon discovered that, along with real memories, the suspect retells his fantasies, which were born in his head under the influence of the drug.
Sodium thiopental
Sodium thiopental, or pentothal, is another contender to be called truth serum. In modern books and films, this drug most often appears as a substance capable of unleashing the tongue of an interrogated person. In fact, pentothal is used for anesthesia in surgery. This truth serum also has its side effects.
For example, it can force the person to whom it was introduced, not to explain the real essence of events, but to adjust their answers to the wishes of those who interrogate him. The use of sodium thiopental was quickly phased out, but in 2007 the substance was used in India on suspected serial murderers. After the injection, the maniac and his accomplice indicated the places where they buried their victims.
