50 ecstasy users residing in Northern Ireland were interviewed for a sociological/anthropological study, with participants recruited via a variety of methods, including advertising, contact with outreach programs and through snowball sampling. The sample consisted of 35 men and 17 women, ages 17-45, with 16/50 (approx. 31%) identifying as gay or bisexual. 37% reported using ecstasy at least 100 times during a lifetime, and 25% had used ecstasy on 12 or fewer occasions during a lifetime. 81% were current ecstasy users, with 8 / 50 former users and 2/ 50 uncertain whether they were going to use ecstasy again. Polydrug use was the norm, with 100% having smoked cannabis at least once in a lifetime and with 92% reporting amphetamine use. Many participants also reported using other stimulants and hallucinogens. Participants were asked about the subjective effects of ecstasy, setting characteristics, and beliefs concerning the capacity of ecstasy to reduce aggression and to increase friendships between Protestant and Catholic ecstasy users. Data was not quantified for any of these items, making it impossible to assess the frequency of any given belief or statement. Most participants indicated that they experienced increased sociality and increased feelings of closeness to others after ecstasy use. Some users reported experiencing "empathy burnout," distinguishing fast friendships made under the influence of ecstasy from those made when "sober," and expressing exhaustion with the emotional expressions of (often novice) ecstasy users. There was no unanimous consensus concerning reduced aggression associated with ecstasy use, as some reported witnessing aggression acutely after ecstasy use either when individuals combined ecstasy with alcohol (said by some respondents to attenuate or eliminate the entactogenic effects of ecstasy) or in the context of a bad drug deal. Fights were reportedly less frequent at clubs where ecstasy was used than in pubs, but participants also ascribed reduced aggression to the socioeconomic demographics of a particular club, and not just to the predominant drug use patterns of then patrons at a club. The authors also noted that some participants continued to express aggressive thoughts despite having used ecstasy. Likewise, increased friendships between Protestant and Catholic participants were ascribed (by the authors more than by the participants) to shared socioeconomic class and generational (i.e. age cohort) factors. The authors discuss interviews in terms of the construction of "myths" about ecstasy use. It would appear that beliefs and experiences associated with ecstasy use grow more complex over time, or that there is inter-individual variance in ecstasy-related beliefs and in experiencing of ecstasy-induced increases in sociability and reductions in aggression.