Considered lawfully and productively used during investigations in both civil and criminal cases as well in the evaluation of psychotic patients, the “truth drug” or “truth serum” has been in effective use since the 1930s.
First documented by Dr. William Beckwenn, the truth serum was developed as a psychoactive medication used to withdraw information from subjects who are either unwilling, or unable to provide what is asked.
In most recent news, James Holmes, the Aurora movie theater shooter, if pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, will be subjected to an “narcoanalytic interview.” This interview consists of the doping of its subjects to reduce their inhibitions. In other words, they will be getting the truth serum. Holmes’s Lawyer argues against this method, calling it a “violation of his client’s rights.” The Judge, however, seems to be in complete favor of the decades-old approach.
Although the name sounds like something out of the popular book/movie series Harry Potter, it seems that JK Rowling’s work isn’t completely fictitious after all!