Smoking pot appears to be linked to risk-taking in youths, Statistics Canada suggests.

"The incidence of marijuana use was 1.8 to 2.6 times higher among youth who reported participating in risky behaviours," the agency reported.

Among 16- and 17-year-olds who said they stayed out all night without permission, 72 per cent said they had tried smoking marijuana. The remaining 28 per cent had not.

Among 16- and 17-year-olds who said they had taken money from their parents, 64 per cent said they had tried smoking pot.

Out of those who reported they had damaged others' property, 69 per cent said they had smoked marijuana.

The survey also found that symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress increased among adolescents as they grew older from 1996-97 to 2000-01.

In 1996-97, nine per cent of youth aged 12 and 13 reported having symptoms of depression, Statistics Canada said.

By the time these youths were 16 and 17 years old, 24 per cent reported having symptoms of depression.

The survey is a joint effort involving the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada.

It follows the development of children and measures the incidence of various factors that influence this development, both positively and negatively.

The latest results are based on a preliminary analysis of information collected from youths 16 and 17 in 2000-01 who were followed from the time they were age 10 and 11 in 1994-95.