In addition, those same impurities are not what causes the harm or, in the worst cases, death. The impurities aren't the really harmful bit. Actually, Andrew Little, the ecstasy is. In a recent study of 392 ecstasy deaths in Australia between 2001 and 2016, no deaths were from impurities or contaminants in pills. No deaths were from other drugs that went alongside the ecstasy pills. The deaths in Australia were all from the ecstasy itself or the ecstasy plus other drugs consumed at the party alongside the ecstasy—alcohol, cocaine, or others, of course—creating a toxic synergy.