While police try to get Ecstasy off the streets, a California organization known as Dance Safe takes a different approach. It has accepted the drug as a fact of life and is trying to reduce the risk by warning users of the dangers, such as dehydration and overheating. And even if it is pure, that's no indication of safety. No drug use is safe. Sferios says that as much as 30 percent of the pills they test are not real Ecstasy, but are substitutes - with PCP, speed or other harmful substances.
Critics say that by testing pills and giving out information, the group is encouraging drug use.
But Sferios says that his group has saved lives and that those who use drugs would use them whether or not Dance Safe existed. Ecstasy will probably not disappear soon. Even those who have foresworn it admit that it can make users feel wonderful. Nevertheless, he says he will never take it again. I'll never touch that stuff again.