Shortage of Truth Serum May Halt Lethal Injections

AFP reports that a drug shortage that has already forced postponement of lethal injection executions across the United States, and some states say they now have the drug in hand but are refusing to disclose its origin.

The unprecedented situation has been compounded by an inmate scheduled to die Tuesday but who is suing to stop his own execution, arguing that the drug which the state of Arizona intends to use may be counterfeit or unsafe.

It's hard to believe that stepped up lethal injections are driving shortage of Sodium Thiopental -- commonly known as "truth serum." Wikipedia reports that Sodium thiopental, better known as Sodium Pentothal (a trademark of Abbott Laboratories), thiopental, thiopentone sodium, or Trapanal (also a trademark), is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anaesthetic. Sodium thiopental is a depressant and is sometimes used during interrogations – not to cause pain (in fact, it may have just the opposite effect), but to weaken the resolve of the subject and make him more compliant to pressure.^[3] Thiopental is a core medicine in the World Health Organization's "Essential Drugs List", which is a list of minimum medical needs for a basic healthcare system.^[4]