Pink pills with the Superman logo have been spotted in Belgium, but also in the Netherlands, Spain. They have already resulted in the deaths of 4 people in the United Kingdom.
Particularly dangerous ecstasy pills are in circulation in Belgium. These pink, shield-shaped pills featuring the Superman logo contain an unusually high dose of the deadly substance PMMA (para-methoxymethamphetamine).
It was the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health (ISSP) which sounded the alarm in a press release published on Friday, January 30. He explains that “the presence of these pills was already observed in the Netherlands in December 2014 and [la semaine dernière] in Spain, in Madrid. These pills have already been found in the UK as well, where they recently killed at least four people. ”
The ISSP explains, in fact, that “there are practically identical pills on the market [aux pilules PMMA] but which contain a high dose of the less toxic active substance MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) ”, ie the active substance present in the usual ecstasy pills. The ISSP adds that it is “impossible to visually differentiate between PMMA and MDMA pills”. In a tribune in the Guardian, a former ministerial adviser also accused the too strict policy of the government on synthetic drugs (MDMA) to be at the origin of the development of these much more dangerous substances.
The risk is very high because PMMA is a substance whose effect is activated much later than MDMA: consumers may therefore believe that they have taken too low a dose and therefore ingest several pills. The symptoms are serious physical problems such as an increased heart rate and a very sharp rise in body temperature. “In many cases, these disorders can result in death,” according to the ISSP.
.
