Ten states and Washington, D.C., have now legalized marijuana for recreational use for adults ages 21 and older, and 33 states have legalized medical marijuana. Connecticut is among a handful of states seriously considering legalizing recreational use. We need to look before we leap.

It has been six years since Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana, and scientists continue to unearth more data on the effects of the drug. Very recently, research presented at the 2018 meeting of the Society for Neuroscience showed marijuana use in teenagers affects the development of areas of the brain responsible for self-control and planning, and a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry showed that abstinence for one month from cannabis improves the memory of adolescents and young.