Less time face-to-face with friends, is being linked to decreasing cannabis use among adolescents

An Otago University study has revealed between 2012 and 2018, the number of Year 10 students who'd never used cannabis increased from 80 to 85 percent.

Over the same period, numbers in the "ever used" category decreased from 19 to 14 percent, and "past month use" decreased from 10 to 8 percent.

Researcher Jude Ball says it comes down to a couple of factors.

She says young people are starting substance use later in their teenage years, and also spending less time face-to-face with their friends, which mean they have less opportunity for drug use of any kind.