The distinction between hard and soft is made by the addictive nature of the drug in question.
Heroine is a hard drug since you get addicted on the first use ... addicted may be a wrong term in a way cause after the first time your body did not develop the dependencies yet, but you WILL feel the withdrawel symptoms
now XTC is considered a hard drug in Holland (I think they can be taken as a solid reference point in this matter)
As for the drug being more socially accepted ... sure, especially in the club scene the drug is just as common as weed is in the home/rock scene
Now as for my experience with the drug ...
X definatly hightens your senses, perception, emotions and general awareness.
music sounds more intense the beats pound your ears in a good way and the melodies take you floating away , every part of your body becomes sensitive to the mildest touch and you become a lot more rythmic and fluent while dancing (dunno how it looks from the outside
but it sure feels like you are very fluent in your movements) and everything becomes beautifull and nice ... lights, patterns, everything that influences your senses gets more intense ...
So those are not false feelings ... they are heightened feelings ... you would be able to experience them without the drugs i guess ... but it would be really hard ... plus the Euphoria the X enables in your brain would not be there ...
Now, the downside of X and why it is a hard drug.
When coming down from X, you feel the different stages, steps as some people call it.
after a certain period of time you experience a sudden drop in awareness, the music doesn't seem so intense anymore, the movements slow down a little ... thats when you know you are on the way back ... after a few minutes you get used to the new, lesser euphoric feeling... untill the next step.
after about 3 steps your senses are almost back to normal and your motoric functions resume normal activity...
Now, depending on what was mixed in the pills of X you will still have a certain surplus of energy ... like a sugar rush, but worse...
I found myself to be hyperactive the day after ... the body was tired, but the mind was still on overdrive whenever sounds hit my ears ... i started dancing and somehow found sufficient energy to make the body do what the mind thought was needed
Now the next evening (Day 0 +1) we were going to a club again, feeding on the last remains of surplus energy from the X.
around the same time that I had taken the X on Day 0 I finally took the last step down... and suddenly felt tired and exhausted ... (I tried Red bull to prolong the effect of X, to no avail, the reserves were depleted)
The night progressed slowly, the music sounded Dull in comparison, the girls a lot less cute (but still nice tho
)
On Day 0+2 I felt mildly depressed. And this is the biggest withdrawel symptom of XTC, the need for Euphoria. The body is not yet dependant, but the mind is in a way... the need for that happyness boost is what draws a lot of people back into the arms of X... and thats when you have to be strong and say no.
XTC on a controlled timeline (once every couple of months) is harmless as there is little or no damage to the body from it, the brain is very resilient and can repair minor damage easily.
but once you start taking regularly, the dependency grows and the addiction is a fact.
Over time, XTC WILL cause damage to your brain, there is a reason we do not feel euphoric all the time ...
Permanent brain damage from extensive use (chasing the dragon) is very common...
there, my experiences and POV
I hope its of some use