The National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) was established in response to community concerns about cannabis use.

The work of the Centre is directed by our Strategic Plan.

In 2010, cannabis was the most commonly used illicit drug in Australia, with one in three (33.5%, 5.8 million) Australians aged 14 years and older reporting having used it in their lifetime. Just over one in ten (10.3%, 1.9 million) had used it in the previous twelve months.

Those Australians aged 18-19 and 20-29 years were the most likely groups to have recently used cannabis (in the previous 12 months), with one in five (21.3%) having done so. Males in the 20-29 year age group were the most likely to report recent use of cannabis (25%), compared to 17.5% of the females of the same age.

There are a range of health and social harms associated with cannabis use. In recent times there has also been a marked increase in presentations to specialist alcohol and other drug treatment services for problems associated with use of the drug. According to the National Minimum Data Set of clients of specialised alcohol and other drug treatment services (2005-2006), alcohol is the most common principal drug of concern reported in closed treatment episodes (39%), with cannabis being the most commonly reported illicit drug (25% of cases).

The NCPIC mission is to reduce the use of cannabis in Australia by preventing uptake and providing the community with evidence-based information and interventions.

It aims to achieve this by offering services to a range of target audiences. These include:

• a website providing cannabis information to the community, users, their families and the various workforces involved in the delivery of cannabis related interventions
• a free Cannabis Information and Helpline - If you need to speak to someone about a cannabis-related issue you can call the Cannabis Information and Helpline on 1800 30 40 50. The Helpline is available from 11am – 7pm Monday to Friday (including public holidays). After hours all calls will be directed to a message service as well as to Lifeline 13 11 14 as an alternative contact.
• regular e-Zines and a Bulletin Series on the latest cannabis research by NCPIC and its consortium partners, as well as latest findings internationally. The Australian Institute of Criminology also provides a Bulletin Series and a Research into Practice Brief series for the Centre
• national free training on the delivery of motivational and brief interventions for cannabis-related problems among adolescents and adults
• a variety of projects to inform service delivery such as findings of studies on barriers and facilitators to cannabis treatment seeking and the development of exploration of new models of delivering interventions via telephone, web and post
• the development of course materials for cannabis and mental health assessment and intervention at Certificate 4 level, available as course units and on-line
• community activities to increase awareness of the harms associated with cannabis use such as school poster competitions, short film competitions, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music competition, road safety messages, and partnerships with key organisations
• a dedicated section of the website for those who work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, featuring links to our artwork and community-building project ‘Cannabis: It’s not our culture’, up-to-date cannabis-related research regarding Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Competition and links to other relevant resources

NCPIC is a Department of Health and Ageing initiative.