Potions Club: Term XXIV - Activity #1

[ivory88s.livejournal.com]

Activity: Ethics Debate
Points: Long Debate - 10pts initial comment/2pts for each subsequent comment of substance; 30pt max
Deadline: Friday, September 21st - 11:59pm UTC
Details: Potions can be a tricky business with some magnificent results. But should it be monitored and if so, how? The Ministry is considering instituting a control over Veritaserum and we're going to discuss whether or not that's necessary and/or a good idea.


For this particular debate, we'll be discussing Veritaserum use, control, and distribution. Initial comment should be at least 100 words and each subsequent should be of some substance and not just "I agree!", even if you do. Why? Anything else to add?

Some things to consider:
As such a potent and effective potion, does it need to be controlled? At first glance it's fairly innocuous. It can be used in a variety of circumstances for differing reasons. Should it be controlled by the Ministry and, if so, how? Should just anyone be able to make it? And when used by the Ministry, should they just be used whenever interrogating a criminal or only in certain circumstances?

*Note: There WILL be a 24-hour grace period after the activity ends, but please make sure you're on the roster now to save time later! Not sure? Check here. Know you aren't on it? Come join the club here! Purchase any additional bonus items? Let me know here.

Comments

[shellzconlon.livejournal.com]

I definitely think that there should be some sort of regulation when it comes to Veritaserum. The potion always gave off a bad vibe, probably because of Snape, when he told Harry that he might accidentally slip some into his pumpkin juice. But like Christa said, it would be so hard to keep track of. And as for who should be making it, ideally it would be people that would have a good use for it (I'm guessing some position in the law enforcement department?) but with apothecaries all over (I'm assuming that the one in Diagon Alley isn't the only one around), wouldn't anyone be able to make the potion? Unless the ingredients were rare (which we don't know) and you could control how much of a certain ingredient a person buys, but then wouldn't they be able to shop at different places to get the essential ingredients? All I'm picturing are a bunch of loopholes that people wizards would find to make the potion if it were heavily regulated.

When it should be used is a bit easier to answer I think. Serious cases, like murder and such, would be a good use for the potion, but minor things like, I don't know, vandalism, I wouldn't see it being necessary.

Michelle/Gryffindor

[flyingharmony.livejournal.com]

Sure, Snape didn't give it the best reputation by telling Harry that, nor did Umbridge by using it against students for her questioning sessions and I am absolutely against the abuse of Veritaserum, but technically, every potion can be abused, not only Veritaserum so technically every potion should also be regulated (and as Mari-Linn said below, there are so many potions that are not regulated and that can be much more dangerous than Veritaserum). Also, I'm agreeing with Christa, it would be incredibly hard to keep track of, too.

Avi//Hufflepuff//2