{
  "id": 4192217,
  "title": "Trump-shaped Ecstasy Pills Issued Fatal Warning in Tourist Hotspot",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/trump-shaped-ecstasy-pills-issued-fatal-warning-in-tourist-hotspot",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-29T12:52:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/trump-shaped-ecstasy-pills-issued-fatal-warning-in-tourist-hotspot-12383569"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands has issued a warning regarding ecstasy pills shaped like the head of Donald Trump. These pills, which feature the U.S. president's face on one side and \"Trump\" stamped on the other, contain a high concentration of PMMA (para-methoxymethamphetamine), a substance similar to MDMA. PMMA is a controlled substance in the U.S. and has a slower onset than MDMA, potentially leading users to consume more and risk an overdose. Symptoms of PMMA use include nausea, increased heart rate, convulsions, and dangerously elevated body temperature. The institute stressed that the pills should not be used, but noted there have been no confirmed cases of severe illness or death among users. In 2024, over half a million people consumed ecstasy in the Netherlands. The Trimbos Institute advised anyone who has taken these pills and experiences severe effects to seek immediate medical assistance and attempt to calm the individual. This warning comes amid a history of Trump-themed ecstasy pills causing controversy. For instance, in 2017, German police seized 5,000 such pills, worth around $47,000, from a father and his 17-year-old son. In 2018, U.K. authorities found Trump-shaped pills at a music festival, containing three times the average adult dose of MDMA. In 2019, Florida police responded to an overdose involving similar pills, and in 2023, police in Glasgow, Scotland, investigated potential involvement of Trump-shaped pills in the deaths of three teenagers at the SWG3 club.",
  "summary": "“Do not use this pill at all,” Dutch addiction institute Trimbos said.",
  "key_points": [
    "Trump-shaped ecstasy pills contain high PMMA concentration",
    "PMMA has slower onset, increasing overdose risk",
    "Trimbos Institute warns against use, no deaths reported"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}