Hyoscine — friend or foe?

Hyoscine, or scopolamine, is a tropane alkaloid found in solanaceous plants such as Datura stramonium. It may seem fairly innocuous in its over-the-counter form for motion sickness and stomach cramps, but it has an altogether darker history.

Traces of the drug were found in the remains of a body believed to be that of Cora Crippen, the wife of Hawley Crippen, in 1910. It was believed to be the cause of death and Dr Crippen was hanged for his wife’s murder.

The verdict has since been questioned, partly because DNA evidence suggests that the body buried under the basement was not that of Mrs Crippen. Another theory is that Dr Crippen used hyoscine as a depressant, but accidentally gave his wife an overdose and panicked when she died.

Hyoscine in the form of a street drug called burundanga was in 1995 reported to be widely used in Colombia’s illegal drugs trade. Victims were given a dose that induced a “chemical hypnosis” where they can talk and drive a car, and used to make them smuggle cocaine across the border.

The criminal use of the drug has become epidemic in Colombia. About one in five emergency admissions is attributed to it. In one case, female thieves would cover their breasts in the drug and encourage potential victims to lick their nipples. Under the influence, men would give up their PIN numbers and be held hostage while the thieves emptied their accounts.

The fictional use of hyoscine as a truth serum features in a number of literary works. In Hunter S. Thompson’s ‘Fear and loathing in Las Vegas’, Dr Gonzo tells of eating an entire datura root, subsequently going blind and being taken home in a wheelbarrow.