In the US Marijuana is one of the commonly used illegal drug of which 12% of the drug users are people from twelve years and older, and the majority are the adolescent ( Volkow et al., 2014) . Despite the fact that marijuana is one of the most abused illegal drugs in the US, there is little research and evidence about the long-term effects of the drug. But in the recent past, there has been an increasing debate about the possible long term effect of using marijuana due to the motion that aims at legalizing marijuana and using it for medical purposes. The legalization of marijuana has therefore attracted new researchers to determine the possible acute and chronic effects of using marijuana. Below is a presentation of the various researchers and finding that have been carried out to determine the long-term effects of using marijuana.
Firstly according to a survey that was conducted in 2012 by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the survey findings indicated that approximately 2.7 million people 12 years and above fell under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) category of people with marijuana dependency ( Volkow et al., 2014) . Additionally, already existing literature indicates that using marijuana have adverse effects on an individual trying to stop the addiction as it leads to withdrawal syndromes which include increased irritability, changes in sleeping patterns, leads to anxiety disorders, and dysphoria. Due to addiction, the withdrawal symptoms force the drug user into relapse, hence, experiencing challenging in overcoming marijuana addiction. It is also important to indicate that marijuana addiction is dependent on the age of the users whereby individuals who start using marijuana at adolescent have two to four times marijuana dependency symptoms after two years of the first experience with the marijuana when compared with individuals who start using the drug at adulthood ( Curdes, 2004) .
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Additionally, the using marijuana has also been provided from the previous experiment to set back the normal function of the brain ( Crean et al., 2011) . In an experiment carried out by Harvard researchers to determine the effects of using marijuana of the cognitive function of a college student, the research findings which involved forty students among whom twenty were marijuana users, and the other twenty acted as control samples as they were not using marijuana. The experiment findings indicated a strong relationship between the use of marijuana and the cognitive function, whereby marijuana adversely affected the neural matrix of the primary rewards of the brain structure ( Crean et al., 2011) . Additionally, other facts indicate that marijuana use leads to mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, though it is difficult to her time this effect as other factors might reinforce it ( Crean et al., 2011) .
Also, in a study carried out in 2013 by the Monitoring the Future for high school students, the research established that approximately 6.5% of the grade 12 students used marijuana on a daily basis ( Volkow et al., 2014) . This, in turn, affected their cognitive ability during intoxication and days after taking the drug which in turn affected the cognitive functioning leading to poor performance in school. Besides poor performance in school marijuana usage among the school going student leads to school drop -out which in turn affects the future success of the marijuana users ( Crean et al., 2011) . Additional, experiments on marijuana users indicate adverse effects on the user's memory, attention, the organization as well as the cooperation of new and complex information, hence reduced brain functioning. Prolonged use of marijuana has adverse effects on the levels of an individual intelligence quotient IQ. Lastly, the further literature indicates that long use of marijuana has prolonged effects on an individual memory; it interferes with one's ability to remember words and ideas ( Jager et al., 2006) .
Existing data from the preclinical and Epidemiologic information indicate that prolonged use of marijuana in adolescent leads to multiple addictive behaviors when one gets to adulthood. Prolonged use of marijuana exposes the user to other drugs as well as increasing the susceptibility of the individual in using other drugs such as alcohol, which in turn may lead addiction to other drugs ( Volkow et al., 2014) . Using prior data from the epidemiology studies, early exposure and prolonged use of marijuana leads to reduced dopamine reactivity on the reward region of the brain which in turn increases marijuana user chances of using and becoming an addict of other drugs. Additionally, due to the ready availability of marijuana individuals with drug-taking behaviors are more likely to start with marijuana followed by other illicit drugs. Lastly, in a study carried out in animals to identify the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on addiction to other drugs, the study findings associated THC with the increased prime of the brain in responding to other drugs, hence, increasing the vulnerability of individual's using it to consume other drugs ( Jager et al.,2006) .
Lastly, numerous researchers have demonstrated a strong relationship between taking marijuana with ill health. The already existing literature demonstrates a strong relationship between long usage of marijuana and lungs cancer ( Tetrault et al., 2007) . Prolonged use of marijuana leads to lungs cancer as well as the infection and diseases of the upper aero digestive system. Additionally, marijuana smoking also leads to inflammation of the large airway, lungs hyperinflation, as well as high rates of airways resistance ( Tetrault et al., 2007) . Marijuana smokers are also likely to suffer from chronic bronchitis when compared with marijuana nonsmokers. Marijuana smokers may also suffer from stroke and myocardial infarction during the intoxication process which in turn leads to ill health. Marijuana smokers are also likely to suffer from mental illnesses such as hallucinations, paranoia, and at extreme schizophrenia. Additionally, other long-term effects of using marijuana include increased thoughts of suicide, depression and anxiety disorder. Lastly marijuana users are more likely to suffer from a heart attack when compared with none-marijuana users this is because Marijuana raises heart beats up to three hours after consumption which in turn may lead to a heart attack ( Tetrault et al., 2007) .
Throughout the literature, one dependent factor influences the long-term effects of marijuana on an individual which is the age. Age have a significant impact on how marijuana affects an individual in the long run. For example, individuals who start taking marijuana at adolescent are likely to suffer more long term effects than individuals who start smoking marijuana at adulthood or later in life ( Jager et al., 2006) . This is because at early adolescent the brain is growing; therefore, excessive exposure to toxins such as marijuana affects how the brain grows and develops, this also explains why adolescent smoking marijuana have low IQ and perform poorly in school academic activities. Additionally, the researchers also indicate that adolescents who smoke marijuana are more likely to suffer from addiction and addiction to other drugs when compared with individuals who start smoking the drug at a later stage of life. Other dependent variables on how marijuana affects an individual include the quantity of marijuana that one takes, as well as the total period that one uses marijuana.
Despite the fact that the research findings have some similar, it is important to note that there were also some differences in the findings. For example, some studies indicated a relationship between smoking marijuana and lung cancer while other studies indicate that marijuana was not a key element in causing cancer unless it was used together with tobacco ( Curdes, 2004) . Lastly, previous researchers are limited because marijuana users also use other drugs; hence, it is difficult to determine the exert effects of marijuana. Additionally, the researchers also were limited due to lack of adequate evidence; hence, the conclusions from the researchers were therefore made on assumptions. For example, while evaluating the effects of marijuana on mental illness, the findings were based on assumptions due to lack of causality who had suffered depression and anxiety as a result of using marijuana ( Jager et al., 2006) .
References
Crean, R. D., Crane, N. A., & Mason, B. J. (2011). An evidence based review of acute and long-term effects of cannabis use on executive cognitive functions. Journal of addiction medicine , 5 (1), 1.
Curdes, M. L. (2004). The long-term effects of smoking marijuana according to national studies and selected local users .
Jager, G., Kahn, R. S., Van Den Brink, W., Van Ree, J. M., & Ramsey, N. F. (2006). Long-term effects of frequent cannabis use on working memory and attention: an fMRI study. Psychopharmacology , 185 (3), 358-368.
Tetrault, J. M., Crothers, K., Moore, B. A., Mehra, R., Concato, J., & Fiellin, D. A. (2007). Effects of marijuana smoking on pulmonary function and respiratory complications: a systematic review. Archives of internal medicine , 167 (3), 221-228. Boyd, M. (2007). Psychiatric nursing . Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Volkow, N. D., Baler, R. D., Compton, W. M., & Weiss, S. R. (2014). Adverse health effects of marijuana use. New England Journal of Medicine , 370 (23), 2219-2227.
