Dutch Health Institute Issues Red Alert Over Trump-Shaped Ecstasy Pills

A Dutch health institute has issued a red alert over ecstasy pills shaped like US President Donald Trump after several tablets were submitted to testing centres in August. The Trimbos Institute said the pills contained a very high amount of PMMA, a substance that can cause potentially fatal overheating, and warned people not to take them.

PMMA is chemically similar to MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, but its effects can take longer to appear and may lack the typical stimulating sensation associated with MDMA. The delay can increase the risk of overdose, with users potentially experiencing nausea, a rapid heart rate and convulsions hours after taking the drug. No deaths or serious illnesses linked to the pills have been reported so far.

The pills feature an image of Trump on one side, while the other is marked with “Trump” and “NL”. Although ecstasy is illegal in the Netherlands, it remains a popular recreational drug. The Trump-shaped design is also not new: German police seized around 5,000 similarly shaped ecstasy tablets in 2017.

Pic courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright