By Ashna Butani
Trumps name and face adorn a myriad of products ranging from swimsuits to t-shirts, and now, ecstasy pills. An Austrian father and son duo combined their efforts to create an orange pill that has the United States’ Presidents face on the front and his name on the back.
‘Make partying great again’
With the goal to make partying great again, the duo created 5,000 pills in the President’s image. However, the pills were quickly found in the back of a car on A30 highway and the duo was subsequently arrested. The car was caught on Saturday, August 21. Despite claiming that they were travelling to buy a vehicle from Netherlands, the two men were taken into custody. They appeared in court on Sunday, and an arrest warrant was issued, while the car was seized. Before their products were sold on the online market, they were caught, hopefully saving many from the scourge of drug abuse. The drugs have an estimated sale value of nearly $47,000.
Politics, marketing, and drugs
Political merchandise has reached its peak following President Trump’s election, and there seems to be an ever-increasing demand for them. When Trump called Hillary Clinton a ‘nasty woman, during his Presidential campaign, he unknowingly created a boom in online tee-shirts sales. Soon after, beer was sold with a political twist in Ukraine. The co-owner of the brewery believed that every bottle gives him the opportunity to present a message, adding a Trump-themed beer to a collection which featured world leaders. However, this trend takes an unexpected turn as the ecstasy pills seized in Germany have ingrained in them the face of the American President.
The 51-year-old father and his 17-year-old son took advantage of the growing global political consciousness to create a higher demand for the drug. Whether the satirical design of the drug is meant to scorn Trumps war on drugs or not is so far unclear. Either way, the pills are not an original idea; It was reported last month that similar pills were confiscated. The pills were sold on the web. The numbers are unknown, but it is clear that the demand for drugs with political symbolism is immense.
Germanys recovery or Germanys fall?
Around 150,000 people die in Europe each year as a result of drug abuse. Even though Germany is no exception, it has been taking steps towards ridding itself of the ailment. Germany adopted therapy as a punishment instead of a jail-time penalty, thereby giving convicts a chance to go into withdrawal treatment rather than jail.
Ecstasy pills can cause nausea, panic, paranoia, agitation; they can even result in death for those who take them. Reports in the UK have warned about the dangers of this increasingly prevalent drug. Some suggest that the situation at hand may call for stricter drug policy in Germany. Although the country has dealt with the ailment well enough, its laws are considered relatively progressive. For instance, in 1994, the federal court ruled that drug addiction was not a crime. However, the increasing use of drugs such as ecstasy calls for reforms.
The verdict of this case is likely to stir a commotion across the globe as dealers are increasingly using political slogans to increase the appeal of drugs.
Featured Image Source: Wikimedia Commons