# The straight dope on truth serum **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957 "2004-05-07T03:48:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![saluki\_fan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@saluki\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saluki_fan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957/1 "2004-05-07T03:48:50Z")
If the government does have a so called agent known as truth serum, what could this substance be? Chemically speaking, why would it cause a person to talk the truth? How did our government discover it? Who was it tested on to see if madet them tell the truth? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957/2 "2004-05-07T03:59:49Z")
IANAD or a spy, and most of what I know about truth serum probably comes from TV or the movies. The drug I’ve heard identified as truth serum is sodium pentathol. You could google on it. My understanding is that, contrary to its use in fiction, it doesn’t compel you to say things against your will, it just reduces your inhibitions, kind of like being drunk. But a real spy or doctor will be along soon and straighten us all out. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957/3 "2004-05-07T04:21:16Z")
[http://web.archive.org/web/20040506211734/http://www.xs4all.nl/~sm4csi/nwo/MindControl/chapter03\_Science\_of\_Drugs.htm](http://web.archive.org/web/20040506211734/http://www.xs4all.nl/~sm4csi/nwo/MindControl/chapter03_Science_of_Drugs.htm) > [@](#): > > The CIA/Illuminati programming centers have more than 600-700 different drugs at their disposal. The following is a partial list of the drugs available for their mind-control (aka MK-Ultra Programming). They can make a person feel like he is in heaven, or burning in hell. The drugs are at times used with elaborate light, sound and motion shows that produce whatever effect the programmer wants to produce. They can make a person believe he is shrinking, or that he is double (with mirrors), or that he is dying. Before describing how drugs are used for programming & control, let us list a few which we know have been used. This list comes from CIA documents obtained from the Freedom of Information Act and from what Multiples used as Programmers remember. Many of the new synthetic drugs are known only to the Illuminati/Intelligence community. You’re on several right now without realizing it… ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957/4 "2004-05-07T06:06:57Z")
shhh!! antechinus, Order of the Illuminati ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957/5 "2004-05-07T07:50:14Z")
[Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers] Wow man. Stone groove. That’s some serious kickass dope you got there, Mister CIA. I haven’t been this high since last weekend. How much you want for it? Whoa, check it out, I’m shrinking, man, faaaar out, this is like that movie where the Dad shrunk the kids and stuff. Heeeeyyyy…you got any tunes? [/FFFB] ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957/6 "2004-05-07T14:31:37Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > Many of the new synthetic drugs are known only to the Illuminati/Intelligence community. The Illuminati/Intelligence community? They’re the ones who wear dark glasses and drive those dard Fnord Exploders, right? RR ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957/7 "2004-05-07T14:37:37Z")
I’ve always wondered this as well. I hope we can get some straight answers here rather than just illuminati jokes. I wonder if there have been studies as to the accuracy of what’s been revealed. Even if it’s designed to lower one’s inhibitions, similar to being drunk (like the above poster said), wouldn’t one’s lowered inhibitions make you MORE prone to telling wild, elaborate tales? ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-on-truth-serum/243957/8 "2004-05-07T15:12:51Z")
From [ScienceWeb.org](http://www.scienceweb.org/tv/highincident.html): > [@](#): > > Sodium Pentothal received the nickname “Truth Serum” because its effects, guided by the psychiatrist in therapy sessions, caused the patient to become very communicative, verbalizing thoughts easily without inhibition. While under the effect of the drug, however, the patient may lose his inhibitions, but he does not lose self-control (just as in hypnosis: a person can’t be hypnotized into doing something he doesn’t want to do, or is unnatural to him, like robbing a bank). For that reason, a patient will not tell the truth if he chooses not to. It’s not like those scenes from old TV shows, where the guy gets injected with Sodium Pentothal and, after an enormous internal struggle, is forced to speak the truth; Sodium Pentothal as a way of determining the truth depends entirely on the willingness of the patient. Also see [here.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_drug)[[wikipedia.org](http://wikipedia.org)]