Trump-shaped ecstasy pills trigger ‘Red Alert’ in Netherlands: ‘Absolutely do not use’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump-shaped ecstasy pills trigger ‘Red Alert’ in Netherlands: ‘Absolutely do not use’")
Image released by Trimbos Institute. Photograph: (Instagram/@trimbos.instituut)
Dutch health institute Trimbos has issued a “Red Alert” over Trump-shaped ecstasy pills containing high levels of PMMA, warning they could cause overheating and potentially deadly consequences.
A leading Dutch drug and mental health institute has issued a “Red Alert” over ecstasy pills shaped like the head of US President Donald Trump, warning that the tablets could be potentially lethal. The Trimbos Institute said on Friday (Aug 28) that several of the pills had recently been submitted to a network of drug-testing centres in the Netherlands, where users can have substances checked before taking them.
“Absolutely do not use these pills,” the institute warned.
Images released by Trimbos showed tablets featuring a depiction of Trump’s head on one side. The other side carried the markings “NL” and “Trump”, separated by a vertical line. The pills were found in at least green and yellow colours.
Warning over dangerous chemical
According to the institute, the tablets contain a high concentration of para-methoxymethamphetamine, or PMMA, a substance chemically similar to MDMA, the main active ingredient in ecstasy.
Trimbos warned that PMMA can take longer to produce an effect than MDMA. That delay could prompt users to take additional pills, believing the first dose had not worked, increasing the risk of a potentially fatal overdose.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
The institute said use of the tablets “can lead to overheating with possibly deadly consequences.”
Despite the warning, Trimbos spokesperson Anniek Groothuis said there had been no confirmed reports so far of serious illness or deaths linked to the Trump-shaped pills.
“We do not know of any victims where PMMA was found in their blood,” she told The Associated Press.
Ecstasy remains illegal in the Netherlands, although its use is widespread, particularly in clubs and at music festivals. A Dutch government report published in 2024 estimated that around 550,000 people had used the drug during the year.
The pills are also not appearing for the first time. In 2017, German police seized thousands of orange ecstasy tablets moulded in the shape of Trump’s head.
