A few little notes about this node:
DanceSafe does have a website, which is http://www.dancesafe.org. At the site, you can get in touch with local chapters, as well as find out what is in the pills that are floating around the country right now. You can even get your own testing kit for 25 dollars.
The medical side effects of ecstasy have indeed, been studied for some time with no conclusive answers to what it can do to the human body. Some studies have shown that habitual use, say almost every weekend, has led to the development of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders in many people, as well as prolonged states of depression. The medical theory is that by overloading the serotonin receptors in the brain, these receptors are essentially being snapped and broken by the drug. This theory, however, has not been proven to be true.
Other studies have shown that occasional use of the drug does not appear to have any side effects at all. And from conversations I have had with regular users, it would seem that the more often one takes ecstasy, the more they need to take to get a really good roll. This would seem to agree with what tobtoh stated in his node on the medical explanation of the effects of ecstasy on your body, regarding the retraction of receptors in your brain to try and slow your body's consumption of serotonin.
Finally, the effects of ecstasy are indeed very unique to any other drug you will find out there for one simple reason: It is the only drug that actually produces a heightened sense of empathy. MDMA was used for many years as a theraputic treatment for couples who were in therapy together because it allowed them to communicate more effectively and solve their problems. The other effects are to your nervous system. All five of your senses become much more sensitive to stimulation, which is why raves are always littered with piles upon piles of floortards massaging each other on the dance floor. The only reason ecstasy was made a controlled substance was merely because people began to notice that it was being used outside of its intended scope (i.e. parties instead of therapies).
I hope this information is of use to those of you with questions about MDMA.