Truth Serum: The History of Scopolamine

In 1916, Texas obstetrician Dr. Robert House gave Scopolamine, a drug derived from the Nightshade family, to his patient who was in labor. Along with morphine, this drug was commonly used to induce a kind of “twilight sleep”. The main characteristics of twilight sleep were the following:

Pain Amnesia: It didn’t necessarily prevent pain, but Scopolamine caused women to forget the pain they experienced during labor.
Sedation: Morphine helped with keeping the women sedated with some pain relief.
Consciousness: Unlike general anesthesia where you are OUT, women were still partially conscious.

Twilight sleep was popular in the early 1900s, particularly in Germany and later in the US, due to its promise of a “painless childbirth.”

Dr. House asked his sedated patient’s husband a question and was surprised when his patient answered instead. This was the first “documented” realization that Scopolamine seemed to make it easier for people to answer difficult questions. According to Embryo Project Encyclopedia, part of Arizona State University, Dr. House proceeded to perform experiments to test the effects of morphine and scopolamine on memories of women in labor and concluded that they could not tell lies under its influence.

Scopolamine is an alkaloid derived from plants of the nightshade family, such as henbane, jimsonweed, and deadly nightshade. During the Italian Renaissance, women would ingest nightshade berries to dilate their pupils as big pupils have been considered beautiful historically because they are associated with heightened emotional arousal or attraction. (The things women do for beauty!)

There are stories of ancient Roman soldiers making a paste from deadly nightshade and applying it to the tips of their arrows to poison their enemies. That may be just a story, despite the Romans using poison to subdue their enemies…but if true, I wonder if one could call that bioterrorism?

Parents would tell their children that eating nightshade berries would make them meet the Devil, likely a clever tactic to keep kids from consuming the poisonous berries. Deadly nightshade grew in my backyard when I was a kid, and my mom simply told me they would kill me so I never ate them. She used to put Mr. Yuck stickers on everything I was supposed to stay away from, but I guess you can’t effectively do that with nightshade berries. The Mr. Yuck sticker was a public health, and really a health communication, initiative in its own right. It was created in 1971 by the Pittsburgh Poison Center as a campaign to prevent kids from ingesting harmful household substances. Mr. Yuck was a green, frowning face- that’s it, no body- which was designed to be more effective than the traditional skull and crossbones, which some kids associated with pirates and adventure rather than danger. He was a big part of my childhood. I only wish he was around when I started dating! ;)

How does Scopolamine work?

Scopolamine is an anticholinergic agent that blocks the actions of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. This results in reduced bodily secretions, relaxation of smooth muscle, and inhibition of certain nerve impulses. Increased smooth muscle relaxation manifests as reduced contractions that move food through the GI tract, which could lead to constipation; a reduced urge to urinate, which can lead to urinary retention; and dilation of the bronchial smooth muscle, which can help alleviate bronchospasms. (fellow asthmatics take note! ;))

By interfering with acetylcholine pathways in the brain, it helps induce the state known as twilight sleep, where people are relaxed and semi-conscious, do not feel pain, and have reduced memory. Instead of directly alleviating pain, scopolamine reduces pain perception by inducing drowsiness and amnesia. Clinically, it was used in the early 20th century (along with morphine) during childbirth. Today, it is still used to prevent nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness. It can also be used for gastrointestinal spasms and seasickness, particularly for scuba divers.

Interest in Scopolamine as Truth Serum:

Scopolamine was used as a “truth serum” by interrogators to confirm innocence and obtain confessions, including for murder. The CIA used it for several years, but it eventually fell out of favor due to side effects like hallucinations and dry mouth, and because it was deemed “unreliable” as a truth serum.

During the mid-20th century, the CIA experimented with scopolamine, and other drugs, as part of broader efforts to develop effective “truth serums.” One notable effort was Project MKUltra, a secret program from the early 1950s to the early 1970s aimed at developing mind control techniques and substances for interrogation. The CIA conducted experiments on both willing and unwilling participants, often without informed consent. These experiments targeted vulnerable populations, including prisoners and psychiatric patients.

Considering this troubling chapter in our history, one can speculate that it might help explain the pervasive distrust in government recommendations, particularly those issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, something recent for all of us. The anger and skepticism could stem from a collective memory of recent unethical experiments conducted on vulnerable populations, raising questions about the integrity and motives behind official guidance.

From these experiments, the CIA learned that scopolamine caused drowsiness, confusion, memory impairment, and hallucinations. It also lowered inhibitions, making people more likely to talk. However, the reliability of their statements was questionable given these side effects. Additionally, the CIA combined scopolamine with other drugs like LSD and barbiturates to enhance its effects, leading to unpredictable and dangerous outcomes.

Ultimately, the CIA deemed scopolamine unreliable as a truth serum and discontinued its use in 1973 when Project MKUltra was officially terminated. The public was outraged upon learning of the CIA’s unethical experiments, which contributed to the development of stricter guidelines and regulations for research involving human subjects.

While scopolamine is no longer used as a truth serum, criminals sometimes use it as a “knockout drug,” reportedly turning people into “walking zombies” who follow commands without resistance and have little memory of the events afterward. However, this could be an urban legend, and its actual use by criminals to create “zombies” is uncertain. (Besides…do we really need scopolamine to give us Zombies? Cell phones do a great job already!)

However…on June 7, 2024, Chilean actor Alex Araya was found dead in an Airbnb in Colombia, with reports suggesting he may have succumbed to the drug burundanga. The night before his death, Araya reportedly went on a Tinder date with two women. Surveillance footage allegedly shows all three entering the Airbnb at 11:30 PM, but two hours later, only the two women exited, carrying Araya’s credit cards and cell phone.

Burundanga is another name for scopolamine. It is known as burundanga in Colombia and South America. In 2023, the State Department issued a travel warning for scopolamine (burundanga) due to a rise in reports of sedative drugs being used to rob people. The State Department noted 50,000 unconfirmed reports of burundanga-related druggings in Colombia over the past year, particularly in major cities such as Medellin, Cartagena and Bogota. Apparently a popular way to target individuals is through online dating apps. There is an agreement to meet in public or at someone’s house, a sedative is introduced at some point, and the targeted individual is robbed. The State Department suggests that these types of crimes are underreported because the victims are often embarrassed.

Alright…so that’s the scoop on scopolamine and its infamous use as a truth serum. Ultimately, it proved too unreliable for that purpose, and it’s troubling that some people were convicted of crimes after being given scopolamine and interrogated.

But humor me: Imagine a different substance is tested—one in a far more ethical manner than the CIA’s experiments—and it turns out to be a genuinely effective truth serum. Picture the headlines: “For the First Time in History, the World Has a True Truth Serum.” Unlike alcohol, which merely makes people more talkative and bold, this would be a substance that compels individuals to tell the truth as they understand it.

My question to you is: Would a genuine truth serum be beneficial or harmful to society? Why or Why Not?

I look forward to your thoughts.

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