Should "truth serum" be considered torture and banned under international law?

[Lunar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_serum

[Lunar]

If they worked properly and under certain circumstances (the old "this guy knows where the bomb/little girl/Waldo is and we need to get the information NOW")?  No, it wouldn't be "torture" and should be legal.  As they work now (and taking account that they don't work anywhere close to 100%), yes.  I'm not sure how it's "torture", but if it doesn't work all that well, it probably shouldn't be used.  A ban seems unnecessary either way.

In many cases it's simply alcohol and the scary label of "we're giving you a truth serum"

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[Lunar]

Right, and that shouldn't be banned.

Really?  Because that's basically the premise behind all of the truth serums listed in the topic article.

There's no such thing as a true truth serum, but rather intoxicants similar to alcohol that loosen people up and confuse them while you tell them that it's a truth serum.

[Lunar]

Right, and that shouldn't be banned.

Really?  Because that's basically the premise behind all of the truth serums listed in the topic article.

There's no such thing as a true truth serum, but rather intoxicants similar to alcohol that loosen people up and confuse them while you tell them that it's a truth serum.

Who cares if you give someone alcohol and tell him it's magic sauce?  How is that torture?

Well, you're forcing psychoactive chemicals into them, which many would contend.

Forcibly giving someone ethanol and telling them it's magic sauce is currently illegal.  I mean, there are other substances too, but as Wikipedia says, most of them simply make the person more talkative and confused.

[Lunar]

The Indian Army with their last Mumbai attacker disagree with that sentiment

[Lunar]

Guess we can't detain anyone then? 

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Intentionally awful interpretation by me.  But the UDHR is a bit more complicated in areas of on-site military prisoners.  That's why we have the Geneva Convention.

[Lunar]

I'm sure it's legal to offer prisoner's liquor if they want it, haha.

I wonder how well that would work for non-Muslim POWs?  It would probably work on me