Teenagers who smoke cannabis daily are 60% less likely to finish school - and are more likely to commit suicide, experts warn

Teenagers who adopt a daily cannabis habit before the age of 17 are 60 per cent less likely to finish secondary school or university, compared to peers who have not used the drug, researchers claim.

The study also found that regular teenage cannabis users are seven times more likely to attempt suicide and eight times much more likely to use other drugs.

Experts behind the Australian study hope that their research will be taken into account when considering whether it is a good idea to legalise the drug.

‘Our findings are particularly timely given that several US states and countries in Latin America have made moves to decriminalise or legalise cannabis, raising the possibility that the drug might become more accessible to young people,’ said Richard Mattick, professor of drug and alcohol studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug across the world and recent statistics have shown that adolescents in some countries are starting to smoke it at an increasingly young age, with some using the drug daily.