About 100%. The expectation that people in this environment are on mdma makes it so.

I’m just saying, I’ve been in similar situations without the drugs involved. There are people out there who act like that and will be like that with each other without MDMA. Myself included.

It's a combination of the scene and the MDMA opening me up to the experience. I would have been _freaked the fuck out_ by random people hugging me without it.

But your point is why I am skeptical of the value of MDMA as like a one-on-one therapeutic tool. For me, it was not just that I was having the best night of my life, but that I was surrounded by people who were also having the best night of their lives. You could just look around and make eye contact with a random person and you both _knew_.

And that community didn't just _happen_. It was the product of lots of people curating that community -- the djs, the promoters, the dancers, etc. You can't just throw drugs into any random pool of people and expect that kind of magic to happen. There was an artistry to it.

I guess this speaks more to the extremes of how some people are and how it can be an effective tool for people out there on the edges of society with weird issues. I was never in this position and I don't know many people who would have such a severe reaction to hugs either. I have always been able to do platonic touch without much of a care even though I never experienced much of it growing up as a man in rural America.

> how much of this is just having a welcoming scene where people emphasize physical touch and friendly interaction?

Most of it, I would bet. From experience, I can say a night out on MDMA can be almost as lonely/alienating as one on ethanol. Still super interesting and fun, but nothing as enlightening as the positive anecdotes above.

Example: if you're physically attractive, but socially stunted, an MDMA night will give you a taste of The Other Side. If your situation is the other way around, guess what - physically unattractive people are still very much unwelcome on a dance floor, and people will still make that clear to you.

This shit is tricky, which is why we need more experienced users in society who can guide newcomers through it.

I've never done MDMA but I have had similar experiences to what is described. I'm more open minded and willing to try things outside of my comfort zone. But your description of being physically unattractive or whatever is definitely true in my world. I found that when people were on drugs at events I was at that they got even more callous.

It was quite unpleasant to be surrounded by these people who clearly would only associate with others who fit whatever beauty norms they justified. I'm not someone who doesn't take care of themselves either but I am not blessed genetically either.