The respected Trimbos Institute, a Dutch drug addiction and mental health institute, has warned about ecstasy pills shaped like the head of U.S. President Donald Trump. The pills contain a dangerous substance that could be lethal, reports infohub.kz.
According to the institute, several of these pills have recently been handed in at drug-testing centers. They urge users not to take them. A photo released by the institute shows pills with Trump's head on one side and "NL" and "Trump" stamped on the other, with a vertical line and letters on both sides. One pill is green, another yellow.
The institute issued a "Red Alert" on its website and social media, warning that the pills contain a high concentration of PMMA (para-methoxymethamphetamine), a chemical similar to MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy. However, PMMA works slower than MDMA, which may lead users to take more, thinking the first pill didn't work, risking overdose. The institute says use of these pills can lead to overheating and possibly death.
Spokesperson Anniek Groothuis said there have been no reported cases of serious illness or death among users so far. She told The Associated Press: "We do not know of any victims where PMMA was found in their blood."
In the Netherlands, producing, selling, and using ecstasy is illegal, but it is widely used, especially at clubs and music festivals. A 2024 government report estimated that about 550,000 people use the drug annually. This is not the first time Trump-shaped ecstasy pills have appeared; in 2017, German police seized thousands of orange Trump-shaped tablets.