Trump's New Marijuana Policy Offers an Opportunity

President Trump ordered marijuana to be rescheduled under federal law on Thursday, shifting it out of the most restrictive drug category. The move would make it easier to conduct medical research on the drug, though it stops short of federal legalization. It has reignited familiar arguments about whether cannabis is harmless or dangerous, medicine or vice, success or failure.

That debate misses the point. Instead of choosing sides, we should acknowledge that policy moved faster than the evidence on public health effects. The challenge is whether we are willing to adjust course when we encounter unintended consequences.