The long-term effects of smoking marijuana can be divided up into physical and emotional consequences. In terms of physical consequences, smoking marijuana is linked to many of the same problems as
tobacco smoking (such as cough, phlegm and wheeze).
Marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which further increases the lungs’ exposure to carcinogenic smoke. Research has shown that the most common physical problems from smoking marijuana can be lung problems such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Some smokers report having chronic cough (an early sign of serious lung damage) just a few months after regular marijuana use.
Long-term emotional consequences can be highly variable. The most damaging one is probably the risk of developing a psychiatric illness such as depression, anxiety or other psychotic symptoms. Marijuana has never been shown to help these psychiatric problems over time and there is a mountain of research to show that if you smoke marijuana now, then your psychiatric problems are not likely to get better on their own — actually, they are more likely to get worse.
There is also clear evidence that smoking pot will affect your ability to learn, and function in school. Clearly this will have a huge impact on your life, from interfering with the kinds of jobs you want or getting into your first choice of college. From another perspective, marijuana can also cause you to reduce your motivation in life and to become more apathetic about things. In turn, this can also be just as damaging to life because it means missing out on important opportunities.
For a closer look at marijuana’s effect on the brain, visit the Facts section.