Many people have trouble following doctors' instructions for taking prescription medication, and that, of course, could lead to serious consequences.

Research shows that 50 percent of Americans don't take their medications as prescribed. And that causes 30 to 50 percent of treatments to fail.

Failure to take medications property is also blamed for 125,000 deaths every year.

"Antibiotic therapy, the infection may never go away," said pharmacist Rich Tomelevage. "Anti-depressant therapy, you truly may never get to what's called a steady state, and it may never be truly effective. Blood pressure medication may truly never work. So with all of those examples, if you don't take (medication) on a consistent basis, your results are going to vary dramatically."

Here's some advice from pharmacists: If you miss a dose, get in touch with your doctor for instructions on how to get back on track.

Study: Early pot use could lower IQ

A new study shows that using marijuana at an early age could have long-term effects on the brain and could lower your IQ.

Researchers found that compared to non-users, people who smoked marijuana starting as early as 14 had less brain volume, or gray matter, in the orbitofrontal cortex.

The study also showed that marijuana smokers had IQs that were five five points lower on average than non-users. Researchers say the younger the individual starting using, the more pronounced the changes were in the brain.