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what would be the legal/social ramifications of a love potion

thinking man·3/30/2018, 5:54:10 AM·6 votes·1,071 views

i think it could be considered rape depending on the interpretation and law system (common law wouldn't consider it rape, and current US definitions could be wriggled to acquit it)

however investigating such a crime would be extremely difficult because the victim doesnt present themselves as a case in need of investigation, being that they are in love and satisfied with the person that they have been made to love

my guess is that it would either exist as a crime rarely invoked because it is hard to prove, a substance so heavily cracked down upon that the risk massively outweighs the benefits, or something considered unsavory but ultimately a fact of life

this discussion is also kinda hard to quantify since we dont exactly know what the properties of a love potion would be (permanent or temporary, if the potion could be traced in blood/urine, etc)

discuss how you think it'd fit into our legal system and how it'd affect our courtship rituals, honestly you can be creative in what the properties of the love potion are but make it clear what you're talking about

i just had another thought that it could be on-par with slavery cuz you're breaking someone's personality and effectively making them beholden entirely to you

it could also be a therapeutic controlled substance where consenting couples take it as a form of therapy for their marriage, hm

49 Comments

Nahui3/30/2018, 6:01:46 AM4 votes

It would be classified as rape, as love in the sense you're talking about is a higher cognitive function evolving from sexual companionship almost exclusively unique to humans. Therefore, to force love would be rape. It would be able to be tested via blood tests and perhaps other tests depending on what the compound was made of. It really wouldn't be hard to prove. The reason is that it would not be permanent because what you feel as love is a chemical reaction in your brain, and to force love would require a constant supply of this special "potion" to keep the facade going. Eventually, someone would slip up or somehow the treatment could not be reapplied, and while the chemical effects wear off, the memories remain.

The only case that it would not be rape is if a couple agreed to take it together for one reason or another, whether to keep a marriage going for kids, or for mutual gain from the relationship that is threatened by lack of emotion. Obviously it would be heavily outlawed, a black market would emerge for it, and it would just become another, more-insidious date-rape drug.

notFREEfood3/30/2018, 6:52:55 AM2 votes

If consent cannot be denied while under the effects of the love potion, then consent cannot be granted in the eyes of the law. The only way to legally have sex with someone after dosing them with a love potion is to obtain consent beforehand, and even then you're on shaky ground.

TheRiddum3/30/2018, 5:56:37 AM2 votes

well this is random

SEKAI3/30/2018, 6:12:20 AM1 votes

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81QLheanHoL.jpg

The context is that the boy is having hots for another girl (not the one in the pic), and this girl being such a good friend, introduces him to a "love potion".

Oh, and, don't ask me which manga it is. Let's just say I don't know the name...

.........

But really, to chemically trigger "love" is obviously never going to be allowed, due to the heavily negative social implications it will obviously come with.

You got people who either use the drug to abduct other people (rape or trafficking), you got people who will force feed the drug to others and basically put them on some sort of dependency, you will also get people who use it and end up with tons of random consequences like unplanned child and whatever (and if you think booze is bad, this is probably only going to be worse), but most importantly, you have the central concern on why you even need a drug for love in the first place, if not to forcefully induce an artificial sense of love on subjects who have little interest in you, which begs the question on why we even want such a product in the first place?

Gotei 13 Aizen3/30/2018, 6:32:39 AM1 votes

Let me re-phrase the situation so as to get at a deeper philosophical undertone here that I think most people are missing.

Let's pretend for a second we're not talking about a love potion and we're, instead, talking about a happiness potion.

I slip some of this potion into your drink and you spend the rest of your life completely blissful and carefree.

Is this a crime? Is this unethical? Have I maliciously impacted your way of life? Have I hurt you in some way?

What's the difference between negatively influencing the life of someone and positively influencing the life of someone? If it's illegal to positively influence others' lives, where does the line get drawn? Should it be illegal to make someone else smile because you've essentially altered the way that they feel, temporary or otherwise?

This takes us back around to the love potion and most of the arguments being presented are outside of the scope of the perspective of the people in the scenario in question.

If you were under the effects of the love potion. You are not being raped when said person is having sex with you. You are consenting to that sex because you're in love with that person. You are not a slave to that person because you are, again, consenting to what it is that they're asking.

Spin this around and apply it to traditional relationships today. Forget there's a love potion for a moment. Are you being raped when you're in love with someone and you consent to having sex with them? Are you a slave to someone if they ask you to do something and you consent to do that something?

If not, wherein lies the difference?

Is it a crime to make better the state of another human being?

ZenithEevee3/30/2018, 6:49:00 AM1 votes

it would depend on how the so called lovepotion works.

Does it work by allowing one person to perceive you as more attractive? Does it work by turning the person into basically puddy in your hands level of Lovey dovey? Does it work by deceiving the other person to see you as their dream mate?

Down to it, The first question is How it works

THen the second question is how the way it works would coincide with whatever laws.

But down to it, I think the best explanation is as simple as: If it cannot change their ability to give or hold consent, It shouldn't matter.

TwitchInMyPants3/30/2018, 4:40:24 PM1 votes

Funny thing, I had a DnD game I was DMing where a player used a Philter of Love to make someone an accomplice in a murder and the only reason they got off is it turned out this guy was plotting to kill Nobles in the city, so it turned into a justifiable homicide where they were in a Zone of Truth and tore the prosecutions argument apart in court. Though it was pretty hard to argue after it was shown that one of the PCs was drugged into helping take hostages before killing a guy.

I think in the real world you'd likely be looking it like any other case of drugging. It'd look bad on its own if the drug was illegal, it'd look bad if used for malicious reasons, and it'd look bad when given to someone without consent. However given you typically only charge on the main crime during an investigation unless you're trying to raise charges, if such a thing weren't viewed as relevant it might get waived. Kind of like if some weed is passed around before a murder or w/e. It depends on the society you're talking about.

LordGeovanni3/31/2018, 1:37:33 AM1 votes

Legal is dependant on who you get as a judge and if they decide to accept evidence for one side or the other.

Irelia Bot3/30/2018, 5:59:54 AM1 votes

Really depends on how long it lasts and if the person knew what happened to them.

If it last a lifetime then I don't expect said victim to want anything to happen to the person who did it assuming the one they now love is the one who use it on them. In turn no charges filed.

If it was temporary then it would become a matter of learning it was used then proving it was actually used and not an act of foolishness, lust or something along those lines.

Anastaecia3/30/2018, 6:00:08 AM1 votes

you should have posted this 2 holidays ago