Dutch Trimbos Institute Warns of Trump‑Shaped MDMA‑Like Pills

A Dutch drug‑addiction and mental‑health institute has issued a “red alert” to the public after discovering ecstasy tablets shaped like former US president Donald Trump’s head, containing a lethal concentration of PMMA, a chemical closely related to MDMA.

The Utrecht‑based Trimbos Institute said several of the pills, handed in at testing centres in August, were found to contain a “very high” amount of PMMA. The institute warned that the drug could trigger overheating that may end in fatal consequences, and urged anyone who has these pills to never use them.

PMMA is a synthetic stimulant that lacks the pleasurable effects of MDMA and instead tends to produce delayed, often absent, stimulation, which can increase the risk of overdose. Users may experience nausea, a rapid heart rate and convulsions hours after taking the pills.

Trimbos spokesperson Anniek Groothuis stated there have been no reported deaths or serious illnesses linked to these pills. However, the substance remains popular as a party drug, with a Dutch 2024 government report noting 550,000 users nationwide, and 2022 data recording a record 550,000 people who had taken ecstasy at least once.

This is not the first incident where Trump’s likeness has been used to brand ecstasy pills. In 2017, German police confiscated around 5,000 carrot‑coloured tablets shaped like the former president’s head under the slogan “Trump makes partying great again.”