Policy & Law
How the law differs by state and territory
Eight jurisdictions, eight different answers, plus a layer of Commonwealth law sitting over the top. A structural comparison, without the myths.
Explainer
Youth cannabis literacy
Clarity, context and youth perspective on cannabis in Australia.
Ycannabis.com.au explains cannabis news, education, policy, advocacy and research for young Australians. We do not sell anything, campaign for anything, or tell you what to think — we set out what the evidence and the legislation actually say.
Six sections
Start where your question is
Each section keeps its own tone and its own visual identity, so you always know whether you are reading news, an explainer, a legal summary, or a study.
Youth News
Plain-language coverage of the cannabis stories that actually affect young people in Australia — what happened, what it means, and what is still unsettled.
Open section →Education & Literacy
Explainers and a working glossary. The vocabulary of cannabis policy, science and law, defined once and used consistently.
Open section →Policy & Law
How cannabis is regulated across Australia’s states and territories, how those rules were made, and where the current debates sit.
Open section →Advocacy & Voices
How young people take part in policy processes — submissions, consultations, inquiries — and what participation actually looks like.
Open section →Research Summaries
Peer-reviewed studies translated into plain English, with an honest account of what each one can and cannot tell us.
Open section →Resources & Support
Australian services, helplines and reference material, listed without commentary and kept current.
Open section →The picture in numbers
What the national data shows
Figures below are from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–2023, the most recent national survey of its kind. They describe patterns; they do not imply a recommendation in any direction.
25.5%
People aged 18–24 who used cannabis in the previous 12 months
The highest rate of any age group. Essentially unchanged from 25% in the 2019 survey, so the often-repeated claim of a sharp recent rise among young adults is not supported by this measure.
AIHW NDSHS 2022–23
41%
People aged 14 and over who have used cannabis at least once
Up from 36% in 2019 and the highest figure since the survey series began in 2001. Lifetime use counts a single occasion decades ago the same as regular use, so it measures exposure across a population, not current behaviour.
AIHW NDSHS 2022–23
80%
Australians who said possession should not be a criminal offence
A separate question found 45% supported legalisation — the first time support for legalisation outweighed support for increased penalties (39%). Removing a criminal penalty and legalising a market are different policy questions, and the survey treats them separately.
AIHW NDSHS 2022–23
How to read these figures
Household surveys rely on self-reporting, so they under-count behaviour people are reluctant to disclose. They also exclude people not living in private dwellings. They are the best national picture available, and they are still an estimate with a margin around it. Where a number matters to an argument, we link to the source so you can check the definition yourself.
Where to next
Three good places to start
Research
How to read a cannabis study without being misled
Correlation, confounding, sample size and the difference between a headline and a finding. The skills transfer to any research you read.
Method guide
Education
The glossary
Decriminalisation, legalisation, diversion, expiation, harm minimisation. Terms that get used interchangeably in public debate but mean quite different things.
Reference