LONDON: Remarkable cures achieved by the use of pentothal — the truth serum — mentioned in recent Courts Martial here are reported by the British Medical Journal. In one case a young R.A.F. man found unconscious at the foot of a ladder at his station, lay in hospital for five days. His condition baffled doctors who failed to find a clue to his continued serious illness. After the patient’s best friend had been consulted, pentothal was injected and the R.A.F. man under its influence talked wildly about his fiancée who had broken off their engagement and about his brother who had been wounded in Burma. When he came around from the drug and his worries were explained to him, he made a rapid and complete recovery.

In another case, the truth serum — sodium amytal — saved a soldier’s sight. He had been blind for four months…. No reason for his blindness could be found. The soldier was admitted to a neurosis centre where he was injected with the truth drug. Under its influence he told the doctors he disliked Service life and resented having to work alone every night without assistance. He is also cured.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2020