I've read about Datura intoxication and nowhere did it say you become a compliant zombie. All you do is get twitchy, feel disconnected from reality, you become a babbling lunatic and have a seriously bad trip. If you survive the experience, you don't remember much, but what you do remember, isn't pleasant. It's closer to PCP than anything else.

Having someone wigging out on scopolamine is the antithesis of compliant zombie. You do feel disconnected/disoriented on lower doses, but you still have free will.

Yes, the CIA and other agencies tested scopolamine as a truth serum, but what they learned from all their drug tests, was there's no such thing as a truth serum. Free will is always present in some form if the subject is responsive. The only way to eliminate the will of a subject is to render them unconscious... and as anyone can tell you, unconscious people don't answer questions (or do what you tell them to for that matter.)

So basically it's total BS.

doloresonthedottedline: I'd heard of it too. Either House, or it was the drug used on SVU by Wong with the heroin addict kid.

I first heard of it from an early X-Files episode.

/Unruhe.
//My favourite episode, coincidentally.

Ikahoshi: Free will is always present in some form if the subject is responsive.

But perception, intelligence, and bonding can all be affected.

Mix, just as an offhand example

Uninhibited drug of choice(alcohol works fine)
Oxytocin (hormonal bonding/trust)
Maybe something to calm nerves, a light sedative, or even pot

Set up the right environment, and interact with them in the right way...

The problem with getting information is breaking down defensive barriers, and doing so without scrambling brains(ie lcd and such). All without leading or similar faults/que's to fish out a desired response of course.

/ Actually, I just realized, it sounds like inception a little bit, and now I feel dirty.
//have to go deeper

My point was, truth serum is more of a romanticised coloquial than technical in terminology. Think of it as what is known today as "buzzwords" such as "the cloud" when in reality, you're renting server space from a single location, not the combined effort of tens/hundreds/thousands/ of locations. It's "the cloud" in name only, cashing in on a non-present concept's image.

omeganuepsilon: Ikahoshi: Free will is always present in some form if the subject is responsive.

But perception, intelligence, and bonding can all be affected.

Mix, just as an offhand example

Uninhibited drug of choice(alcohol works fine)
Oxytocin (hormonal bonding/trust)
Maybe something to calm nerves, a light sedative, or even pot

Set up the right environment, and interact with them in the right way...

The problem with getting information is breaking down defensive barriers, and doing so without scrambling brains(ie lcd and such). All without leading or similar faults/que's to fish out a desired response of course.

/ Actually, I just realized, it sounds like inception a little bit, and now I feel dirty.
//have to go deeper

My point was, truth serum is more of a romanticised coloquial than technical in terminology. Think of it as what is known today as "buzzwords" such as "the cloud" when in reality, you're renting server space from a single location, not the combined effort of tens/hundreds/thousands/ of locations. It's "the cloud" in name only, cashing in on a non-present concept's image.

Everyone has the free will to say no to the very first time.

The headline of TFA: "The Most Terrifying Drug in the World"

No. The most terrifying drug in the world is 87 octane unleaded gasoline.

rufusthegoat:
-That awesome episode of X-files with the weird kidnapping victims and photos (after college)

"Unruhe" - about the crazy dentist who kidnapped women by injecting them with twilight sleep, and gave them lobotomies while speaking German. Super creepy but a little too Scully-as-victim for my liking.

Fluorescent Testicle:
My favourite episode

Ah. Fark is too fast for me.

FTFA:Sadly, when they actually do get their hands on the stuff, they chicken out and flush it down the toilet at the end

Then what's the point of the video? I wanted to see the documentarians on the drug.

miss diminutive: omeganuepsilon: She's quite the fun one to go drinking with, obviously.

She sounds like a good person to have around when you're out on the town and need some sass on demand.

There's no demand, even when she's sober, you spend half the night trying to close the valve when she's really on a roll and into a few drinks. Of course, that's fun as well.

Mock26: Everyone has the free will to say no to the very first time.

Not sure if serious.(or even relevant).

Free will of a completely sober person is sort of a myth. We are the result of our experiences, they shape and guide every "choice" we have.(along with the unspoken genetic/instinctual drives).

Muddled and bombarded as the human brain is, we're also never really completely clean and sober anyhow.

The human mind is so expansive and fluid, people can be led, or lead themselves to believe any number of things, even against the most base instinct, survival.

That's how we get suicide bombers. They don't necessarily begin off kilter. Psychology can be a powerful tool in the hands of a madman. Ask Pavlov. Hell, ask the xbox live reps that get convinced to hand over account details, to some 13 year old kid talking out of his ass, without the required verification.

It really doesn't take a whole hell of a lot to convince someone to do something stupid, no matter their sobriety, a sadly large amount of people don't need any convincing at all. Really, when it comes down to it, it's much harder to convince people to do something smart.

Hell, the politics tab is proof positive of that.

Honest Bender: it makes the person do whatever the rapist wants and they have zero memory of the event after.

As a plot device. I'm skeptical because other mention that's not entirely realistic, but can't be bothered to hit up google. Cop/law drama's really aren't the place to learn such things though.

/it was the same on Castle
/enhance, enhance, zoom, enhance

My Fark login is "Gordon Bennett."


I'm not entirely clear on how that helps you, submitter, but there you are. Enjoy.

Gordon Bennett: Gordon Bennett

I just finished watching Red Dwarf in it's entirety for the first time, but low and behold, in between episodes I'd forgotten the name and could only think about Noah Bennett from Heroes and wonder if he was named after the expletive.

Not as bad as some shows or movies, but the english really know how to cram a show full of such odd terms, it got lost in the avalanche, so to speak. Speaking as an american that watches a LOT of uk show's and spent two years over there, usually not that difficult to figure it out in context. Still had no idea until you posted your name, so...thanks?

/CSB smeghead

I have heard this. I have also heard of datura (including jimson weed), that it seems to be refined from, which contains all sorts of other fun stuff like atropine. Brugmansia and belladonna also have these substances.

If you want to read about some experimenters learning a harsh lesson, head over to erowid and read the 'trip reports' on these three types of plant. There's some scary stuff in there. And those reports are from the folks that didn't manage to actually kill themselves with it, a real possibility.

Approves

You've never heard of scopolamine.

Uhh, I've taken it. Works great for motion sickness.

Article sounds bogus.

omeganuepsilon: Gordon Bennett: Gordon Bennett

I just finished watching Red Dwarf in it's entirety for the first time, but low and behold, in between episodes I'd forgotten the name and could only think about Noah Bennett from Heroes and wonder if he was named after the expletive.

Not as bad as some shows or movies, but the english really know how to cram a show full of such odd terms, it got lost in the avalanche, so to speak. Speaking as an american that watches a LOT of uk show's and spent two years over there, usually not that difficult to figure it out in context. Still had no idea until you posted your name, so...thanks?

/CSB smeghead

I've never heard of scopolamine - have any of you guys?

BOBO BRAZIL: I've never heard of scopolamine - have any of you guys?

I never heard of it either, but then again there are probably thousands of obscure drugs with horrific side effects out there.

/I've always wondered if drugs weren't the secret ingredient in terror attacks.
/Find an addict, give them a suicide vest, promise them more drugs when the push the button.
/Whatever their addicted to is so obscure it sneaks past the doctors on autopsy.

libranoelrose: Mock26: Everyone has the free will to say no to the very first time.

When did you become such a kill joy?

Sorry, that one kind of slipped out. ;-D I will endeavor to post in a more Fark-like manner in the future.

Gordon Bennett: My Fark login is "Gordon Bennett."


I'm not entirely clear on how that helps you, submitter, but there you are. Enjoy.

(V) (;,,:) (V)

Zoidberg
approves!

Legalize it

Obamator

You guys have been on it for years.

Shostie: It's got nothing on krokodil.

NSFLunch

Shostie, I hate you.

;)

For every comment so far:

This.

Why was this greened? Every time I start thinking about tossing $5 Drew's way a thread like this pops up.

I'll just keep clicking on ads, thanks.

shanrick: it's an ingredient in a very common plant.
every year there's one or two stories in the
news about some kids trying to get high
and winding up in the emergency room.

Oh they weren't just trying. They got high, higher than they bargained for and a lot closer to death I would wager, but they're always successful...

Never heard of it? I've farking done it.

/Well a pretty diluted form of it
//As drops to dilate my eyes at the eye doctor.

Judging from the headline, I thought the article was going to be about

Then what the fark wa all that waterboarding for?

CowardlyLion: Perhaps there are people who aren't familiar with common OTC drugs, though. I'll help them out and suggest some more gizmodo/gawker opening lines:

You've never heard of pseudoephedrine.
You've never heard of ibuprofen.
You've never heard of acetaminophen.
You've never heard of diphenhydramine.
You've never heard of dextromethorphan.
You've never heard of acetylsalicylic acid.

Hell, this thing could become a whole farking hipster drug video series.

You've never heard of gauifenisen.
You've never heard of naproxen.
You've never heard of ranitidine.
You've never heard of loratidine.

You're right, this is fun!

Subby, my Fark login is Gene Masseth. Hope that helps.

what a hipster douche.

smells_like_meat: The most terrifying drug in the world is marijuana. Gateway to all other hard drugs.

Really? I thought it was clove cigarettes.

Is it super awesome sweet alabama liquid snake?

CowardlyLion: Perhaps there are people who aren't familiar with common OTC drugs, though. I'll help them out and suggest some more gizmodo/gawker opening lines:

You've never heard of pseudoephedrine.
You've never heard of ibuprofen.
You've never heard of acetaminophen.
You've never heard of diphenhydramine.
You've never heard of dextromethorphan.
You've never heard of acetylsalicylic acid.

Hell, this thing could become a whole farking hipster drug video series.

People not knowing what those drugs are would explain the new line of "Help I have _____" medication packaging coming out.

Just a little pill pack with "Help! I have a headache.", or "Help! I can't sleep.", etc. on it.

When I was a teenager, I had the pleasure of babysitting my brother after he ingested datura seeds from Jimsonweed.

I had taken psychedelics of various stripes quite a few times, but he was acting way more messed up than anything I had seen. He didn't know what everyday objects were and even when he was coming down he was having hallucinations about things being present that weren't.

That is something I would not recommend to anyone. Absolutely terrible shiat.

sseye: Then what the fark wa all that waterboarding for?

*shakes tiny fist*

I read through all the comments just to make sure no one said this before I did...and your comment was literally the last one.
:)