Drug ‘Ecstasy’ May Help Individuals with Schizophrenia, Autism

This article says that MDMA, with effects of causing "playfulness, friendliness and loving feelings," may be an effective way to treat people with disorders characterized by a lack of the feeling of connectedness to others. MDMA is of course an illegal drug, but what I find interesting is the line between legal and illegal drugs. Drugs are prohibited and regarded in a negative way because they alter your state of mind, but at how and where is the line drawn between "helping" and "hurting" drugs? While I'm not going to try to make a case for the therauptic effects of crack, there are illegal drugs that have positive qualities. The medical benefits of marijuana are undeniable, which the federal government does not agree with despite its legalization in several states. LSD was originally used with great success in the psychological treatment. On the other hand, legal drugs often come with negative side effects. Painkillers are unbelievably addictive, and often create a lifelong dependency. Anti-anxiety medications can put the user in a foggy state of unawareness.
When a doctor prescribes you a drug, it is considered good for you for, as a doctor is the ultimate authority on what is "good for you." It is beleived that this drug will alter you in a positive way. However, when you take drugs on your own, it is considered bad for you, and it is beleived it will alter you in a negative way. While it is obvious that all drugs ALTER you in some way, which is what makes them drugs, I believe the differing ideas of what is good and bad are based entirely in the stigma associated with them. Marijuana has been proven to be far less addictive than say, Vicodin, but remains illegal because of it's stigma as a "street drug."
In this article, the researchers see a potential for MDMA in helping people despite its stigma. I feel all drugs (legal of illegal) are always both potentially harmful and potentially helpful, and the dual nature of this is implicit in altering your state of mind. No drug can be completely "good" or "bad" because the usefulness of the drug is not in the drug itself, but in the way that interacts with and alters the person who is taking it.