Brazilian Websites Sell "Legal" Drugs

06/29/2015 - 09h52

There is a wide range of natural hallucinogens found in nature – and also on the Brazilian internet.

On at least four online stores, anybody can purchase mushrooms, cacti, seeds and other herbs which contain substances that alter the user's state of consciousness.

The websites warn users that the products are not for human consumption, but the section of evaluation of the substances are filled with comments on the experiences caused by the use of the drugs.

The law is ambiguous: the plants and fungi sold aren't on the list of banned substances by Anvisa, the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency. However, the text says that substances that create hallucinogenic effects are forbidden.

In the case of the mushroom Psilocybe Cubensis, the substance psilocybin is banned, but the fungus is not. In the case of marijuana, both the plant (Cannabis sativa) and the substance (Tetrahydrocannabinol) are on the list.

Criminal lawyer Ivan Pareta says the sales of these products can be considered drug trafficking if the product contains substances forbidden by Anvisa.

Pareta says, however, that as many online stores sell the spores ("seeds") for home growth and the spores don't have psilocybin, there is a legal loophole for this kind of business.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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