New Zealanders and Australians are the biggest users of cannabis in the world, Radio New Zealand reports.
A United Nations report on drug use said cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug.
It is estimated that between 9 per cent and 14 per cent of the population in New Zealand and Australia use cannabis.
The estimated annual use worldwide of cannabis is between about 3 per cent and 5 per cent.
The United Nations office on drugs and crime said in 2012, up to about 227 million people worldwide used cannabis, however it said the global use of the drug seems to be decreasing.
In the same year, about 140,000 cannabis plants were eradicated in this country, 119,000 from outside plots, and 21,000 indoors.
Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said he was not surprised the use of cannabis by New Zealanders and Australians was the highest anywhere in the world, and that research showed half the adult population here had tried the drug.