Reading Room Document

Administration of Truth Serums Without Consent

This memo concluded that the involuntary administration of drugs to obtain an admission of "truth" from prisoners would likely violate their constitutional rights. Reaffirming the principle that “trespass upon one’s person can be equally offensive to the Constitution whether the subject is free or a convict,” the memo discussed the dangers posed by using drugs to induce a state of mind, including its invasion of the prisoner’s right of privacy, its potential for being put to oppressive uses, and the questionable scientific reliability of the technique itself.

December 15, 1954