What's a "hardcore drug"? Personally, I think this "hard vs. soft" idea just encourages people to think of some drugs as safe and others as unsafe. Case in point, alcohol and cigarettes claim more lives per year than any illegal drug.
I'm willing to admit that some drugs are more addictive than others. Ones which are strong dopamine releasers tend to be more addictive, so I'd consider those more "hardcore" insofar as they remove your ability to gauge how deep you've gone in your use. Nevertheless, any drug can be abused, and any drug (given sufficient self-control) can be used therapeutically or recreationally. There are people who have a totally functional cocaine habit, and then there are those who get addicted to huffing aerosol cans.It's hard to make a blanket statement about drug abuse when people come from such varying circumstances and have such different approaches.
This isn't an easy question by any means. It's deeply rooted in so many aspects of the human condition that it would be unjust to claim that one drug is "hard" and another is "soft". It all depends on how you, your family, your community, your lawmakers, your historians, your deities, etc. feel about altered states of consciousness, hedonism, individual choice vs. public good, etc. etc. etc. etc.
Anyway...I think Ecstasy is a "soft drug" in its potential for addiction. I think it's a "hard drug" in terms of body load. I think it's a "soft drug" in terms of encouraging "deviant" or antisocial behavior (as opposed to meth, psychedelics, dissociatives, or alcohol, when abused). I think it's a "hard drug" when describing its method of action. I think it's a "soft drug" based on its penetration into the working class, who are normally the most conservative group when compared to the lower or upper class in terms of substance use. The list goes on.
*shrug*
This is my exact feelings on the subject as well. Drugs are drugs, no matter if you buy them off the street or in a bar or from a pharmacy. I see the soft/hard drugs lable as a device used by the goverment and media to scare people when there are dangers associated with all drugs.
