Informal Trade of Psychoactive Herbal Products in the City of Diadema, SP, Brazil: Quality and Potential Risks.

The present study aimed to assess the quality and risks involved in the consumption of psychoactive herbal products (PHs) that are available through informal commerce in the city of Diadema, SP, Brazil. Methods of ethnography were used to conduct the fieldwork during which four dealers were selected to record the collection, handling, packaging, types of PHs marketed, and their therapeutic purposes. In addition, lots of the PHs selected were purchased from the dealers and analyzed using microbiology and pharmacognosy techniques.