Dutch officials issued a nationwide drug warning after testing ecstasy pills molded to resemble President Donald Trump and finding very high amounts of a substance that can cause fatal overheating.
The Trimbos Institute published the “Red Alert” on Friday after a Drugs Information and Monitoring System testing center received several two-color pills. The Netherlands Forensic Institute also recently analyzed a similar tablet.
The pills show Trump’s face on the front. The reverse carries a break line with “NL” above it and “Trump” below it. Officials found several color combinations.
The warning concerns pills found in the Netherlands. Trimbos did not report that the tablets had reached the United States.
Why PMMA raises the overdose risk
Testing found very high amounts of para-methoxymethamphetamine, or PMMA. The chemical resembles MDMA, the substance commonly associated with ecstasy, but its effects begin later and its stimulating effect may not appear, Trimbos said.
That delay can lead users to believe a pill did not work and take more, increasing the risk of an overdose. Nausea, elevated heart rate, convulsions and extremely high body temperature can strike hours after ingestion. The institute warned that overheating could prove fatal.
Trimbos urged anyone who took one of the pills and developed severe symptoms to seek emergency medical help immediately and keep the person as calm as possible while waiting for responders.
Officials acted before festival events
A Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport memo said two pills submitted during the week contained very high PMMA doses. Officials had not received reports of incidents in which PMMA was detected in a person’s blood, but they issued the national warning because of the summer festival season and events scheduled that weekend.
DIMS operates through 12 partners and 34 testing locations across the Netherlands, many at addiction treatment organizations. Its Red Alert app had warned since May against pills containing MDMA and smaller amounts of PMMA.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the White House launched an Emerging Threats Committee this year to improve warnings about new and re-emerging drugs entering the U.S. illegal supply.
Provided by Dallas Express
