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

[erzsebet.livejournal.com]

I think Veritaserum (or any potion that could make a user do the opposite of what they may want, really) should be monitored. With Veritaserum especially I think a good comparison could be made similar to those against the Patriot Act (however I'm still a bit too drunk to do that - something else get on that, please XD). There's just something extremely... squicky about the idea of someone finding out another's secrets without their knowledge that I think should be monitored and restricted and used only with full agreement of the person(s) involved. And really, I can't think of any reason is SHOULD be used outside of Ministry actions (which even then the Ministry is shown to be somewhat corrupt~ during certain actions), and should therefore definitely be monitored in the administering of Veritaserum.

Liz | Gryffindor

[flyingharmony.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Veritaserum being abused really is an idea that makes me wince; but the problem is - how can you really control Veritaserum? Also, I think that Veritaserum within the Ministry can still be terribly dagnerous - probalby even more dangerous than somewhere outside, because... Well we know the people working there, and in the hands of Umbridge this could lead to a bigger disaster than she created in Hogwarts. I can't really think of any reasons to use it ousdie the Ministry as well, except maybe in the case of Bartey Crouch Jr. after the Triwizard Tournament (which would lead me to thinking why Polyjuice wasn't restricted/monitored either...).

Avi//Hufflepuff//9