As any faithful Harry Potter nerd will know, lies cannot always be concealed. Veritaserum (or truth serum) is a magically concocted potion that can cause even the most perfected liar to indulge his deepest darkest secrets. 
Is it possible that such a potion actually exists in real life? Not so much. While some have been fooled by the effects of the class of drugs named barbiturates, research reveals its actual abilities. These drugs typically relax people and can even make them fall asleep. During the 1930s and 1940s, people used these drugs to uncover unconscious material of those around them. 
However, in 1963 the U.S. supreme court discovered confessions made under this "truth serum" were not concrete or always accurate. Studies have shown that participants were able to lie under the influence of the "truth serum". It was obvious as to why previous people had believed confessions to be true; barbiturates lower the threshold for reporting all memories. While people assumed all of these memories to be true, not all of them were. In other words, injecting someone with a barbiturate drug is the same as getting someone wasted. They don't always tell the whole and honest truth, but they just might confess their love for their best friends girlfriend. 
I am glad the world doesn't have a real truth serum. It would be a violation of privacy to "take" someone's thoughts. On the other hand, it would be useful in a plethora of circumstances, like correctly convicting the guilty and not the innocent.
I agree with the previous commment; I'm glad we don't have the power to "force" someone to tell the truth. Although there are instances where it might come in handy, it also opens up doors to be used in non-ethical ways, too.
Truth serum does have a place in today's society as long as its use doesn't take away a citizen's rights. I agree that people have the right to privacy of their own thoughts, but in cases of national security it might just be worth it. That is, of course, if a real truth serum existed.
I can't imagine the kind of world we would live in if the truth serum really existed. There are so many ups and downs of having something like that at our disposal. Society constantly complains that people lie too often, yet they'd also say that its invasion of privacy to divulge the truth out of someone. I don't think there really is a happy medium. It would have to be one or the other.
This was an intriguing post to read. Maybe one day scientists will create a "truth serum". Having a truth serum would raise a lot of controversy as previously stated. It would make things like dealing with law and crime more concise. However, I also agree it would be a major violation of human rights.
A world with a real truth serum would be really scary, since you never know what and who are awaiting you around the corner ready to tackle and hear your secrets. But a chemical compound that can lower the threshold of our memories so that we completely relate them seems unfeasible. Since everyone's chemical makeup and balance is different, the serum would have to specifically react according to that person's individual characteristics. Not to mention some people have better memories, others are better at remembering specific things. Since it's fairly impossible to account for everything, I guess we're all safe for the time being!