Narcoanalysis refers to the use of truth serum. Narcoanalysis is a term which is derived from the Greek word narkc which means "anesthesia" or "torpor" and is used to describe a diagnostic and psychotherapeutic technique that uses psychotropic drugs, particularly barbiturates, to induce a stupor in which mental elements with strong associated affects come to the surface, where they can be exploited by the therapist.
The term Narcoanalysis was coined by Horseley. Narcoanalysis first reached the mainstream in 1922, when Robert House, a Texas obstetrician used the drug scopolamine on two (2) prisoners.
The search for effective aids to interrogation is probably as old as man"s need to obtain information from an uncooperative source and as persistent as his impatience to shortcut any tortuous path. In the annals of police investigation, physical coercion has at times been substituted for painstaking and time consuming inquiry in the belief that direct methods produce quick results. Development of new tools of investigation has led to the emergence of scientific tools of interrogation like the Narcoanalysis test. Such tests are a result of advances in science but they often raise doubts regarding basic human rights and also about their reliability. Legal questions are raised about their validity with some upholding its validity in the light of legal principles and others rejecting it as a blatant violation of constitutional provisions.
Narco analysis is not openly permitted for investigative purposes in most developed and/or democratic countries.
Narcoanalysis is also spelled Narco-Analysis.