DM Turner- The Esseential psychedelic guide

concluded that lasting and beneficial experiences are derived primarily from
deep bonding with other people while one is high. Nearly all of my better X
experiences happened when I was with either one other person or a small
group of close friends. This framework for using ecstasy closely parallels
how it was used in therapeutic settings. Ecstasy's ability to allow emotions
to flow more easily and naturally, and to create an atmosphere of
nonjudgment and acceptance, is conducive to deep bonding and healing. I
find that the more general feeling of "connectedness," which users report
feeling with larger groups of people at events such as raves, tends to
dissipate, leaving one feeling hollow by the time the drug wears off.
Ecstasy is not really "psychedelic" in the same way as other substances in
this journal. It does not have the potential to produce the fine level of detail
in hallucinations that is possible with substances like LSD or mushrooms.
Indeed many users experience no visual phenomena at all with ecstasy.
Ecstasy also does not heighten one's senses to the level of infinite sharpness
that is common with the traditional psychedelics. Ecstasy is sometimes
called an empathogen because of its ability to facilitate emotional empathy
and communication. I've also heard it referred to as a "selective
psychedelic." I think this describes it the best. Ecstasy opens one's mind in a
psychedelic way, but much of the personality and perceptual structure are
left intact that would be diminished on other, non-selective psychedelics.
This makes ecstasy usable by many people who could not handle the effects
of something like LSD. With ecstasy one does not go through the
dissolution of identity, and can not get into the multitude of "weird" head
spaces that can be experienced during an LSD trip. More than any other
psychedelic, ecstasy seems to produce very similar experiences in different
people, generally described as loving and emotionally opened. While
advantageous to the novice psychedelic user, ecstasy's limited experienceproducing
range provides a low ceiling to the more adventurous
psychonaut.
Ecstasy rarely produces a bad experience, but there are some negative
aspects to ecstasy's signature. I find ecstasy can be one of the hardest
psychedelics to come down from, particularly if I've double dosed. I tend to
feel depressed as the blissful ecstasy feelings slip away. My previous
personality feels "sticky" at this point, and I feel I have less options
choosing my return personality than I would returning from the traditional
psychedelics. Ecstasy also produces some side effects: a speedy feeling
throughout the experience, often accompanied by jaw clenching (it is in the
amphetamine family), a loss of appetite, and sometimes a hangover the next
day.
SAFETY FACTORS: