switch users and still use display

[fxkl47BF]

i log in to x session as user1 on host1
from within a xterm i want to change to user2 on host1 and run x programs
the current way i do this is ssh user2@host1
does using ssh on the same host use encryption
is there another way to do this
i feel like this has been hashed over here previously
i just can't find the answer