Generations of politicians and bureaucrats scorned the scientific evidence on marijuana to score “tough on crime” points. More than ten million Americans were arrested for marijuana to help prop up Washington’s campaign to demonize weed and anyone who touched it.

Science—and society—benefit when people can ask questions without fearing character assassination. Real inquiry demands curiosity and courage. We need a much higher willingness to tolerate ambiguity, withstand criticism, and focus on the idea, not the person.

Valentin has shown what a culture does to its young when it translates every sorrow into a diagnosis and every duty into a trauma. The rest is transmission: the slow work of teaching the next child that she is not a brand.