Orange ecstasy pills featuring Donald Trump’s face seized in drug raid
It’s common for ecstasy tablets to make nods to news events, as a marketing technique and a way for users to identify different batches
Indiana state police have seized a shipment of orange ecstasy pills that bear the face of US President Donald Trump. On the other side, the pills are embossed with the words “Great Again”, a nod to Trump’s campaigning slogan.
The pills turned up in a series of drug raids in Indiana in which 129 people arrested. Indiana state police released photographs of the pills in their haul.
Trump pills similar to these were first spotted in Germany last year, although those pills seem to be from a different batch. They also have been seized in Hong Kong. This is the first time police have reported finding them in the United States, and it’s unclear whether they originated in the US.
It is common for ecstasy tablets to make nods to brands and news events, as a marketing technique and a way for users to identify different batches. Leading up to the North Korea summit, pills with Kim Jong-un’s face and the logo of streetwear brand Obey were spotted in London.
Pill Report, the crowdsourced website that provides reviews and warnings of different pills, has recent entries for pills that have the Netflix logo on one side and “chill” on the other, Heisenberg from Breaking Bad, the faces of cult Cartoon Network characters Rick and Morty, as well as FC Barcelona pills.
Tech companies are particularly popular – with a huge number of reports of green What’s App pills, yellow Snapchat ones and a huge run of orange Tesla pills, which were shown to be so strong when tested that drug charity the Loop put out a warning telling people to “take care” when taking them. Tesla has remained one of the most common pill designs in recent years.
Donald Trump-shaped Ecstasy pills surge in popularity in Hong Kong as seizure of drug leaps by more than 60 times
When it comes to drug policy, Trump has reversed some Obama-era emphasis on treatment over enforcement. However, some observers believe that by signing the Right to Try Act, which allows very sick patients access to experimental treatments, there is an increased likelihood of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, being eventually prescribed for some medical conditions.
MDMA has had repeated success in trials for treating psychological conditions, including PTSD. It has already passed phase two clinical trials that assess safety, and the act only requires a phase one trial, which assess the general viability of a substance for medical use.
