Deadly Trump-shaped ecstasy laced with PMMA found in Netherlands

New ecstasy pills shaped like Donald Trump's head are circulating around the Netherlands. The drugs appeared in various colours, each featuring the former president's signature hairstyle and pout. His surname is printed on the back along with the letters NL. This abbreviation stands for the Netherlands. Authorities submitted these items to a testing centre belonging to the country's Drugs Information and Monitoring System.

The Trimbos Institute runs that system. Officials said the substance contains a very high amount of para-methoxymethamphetamine. Experts call this chemical PMMA. It has a structure similar to MDMA. Users feel euphoric effects after taking it, but the onset takes longer than with real ecstasy. That delay can be deadly. People may take more pills thinking the first dose did nothing. In some cases, that behavior leads to a fatal overdose.

PMMA killed users worldwide since party pills began mixing it in during the 1970s. The UK saw spikes in deaths linked to PMMA in 2012 and 2013. In the US, tablets marketed as MDMA often hid this dangerous substance. A string of deaths occurred among people who believed they took MDMA in the early 2010s. No exact figure exists for PMMA-related injuries or fatalities there.

The Drug Enforcement Administration lists PMMA as a Schedule I controlled substance. The UK treats it as a Class A drug too. Possession carries a seven-year sentence and an unlimited fine. Supplying it can mean life in prison plus an unlimited fine. These penalties hit individuals hard while affecting public safety directly.

Police investigated whether super-strength ecstasy shaped like Trump's face caused three teen deaths at a Glasgow nightclub in 2023. Security staff recovered the pills from SWG3 club in August 2023. Two eighteen-year-old boys, Scott Allison and Marcus Dick, died after attending a dance event that summer. An eighteen-year-old woman also died in January 2024 after partying at SWG3 on New Year's Eve. Drugs were suspected as the cause of her death too.

A report from Public Health Scotland issued that year included a red alert on drug trends. Police Scotland shared this warning with the public. Turquoise pills containing MDMA were identified as potential killers in those cases. Similar Trump pills have been seized before in Indiana, Georgia and Florida. Those earlier seizures contained MDMA instead of PMMA. The danger remains high regardless of the specific chemical mix found inside.