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Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium (CCRC)

Project Members: 
image - 1314150062 Hutchinson Delyse 12
Visiting Senior Fellow
Ph 50148
image - Richard Mattick
Honorary Professor
Ph 02 9385 0333
image - 1314149357 Ed Silins 010
Dr Edmund Silins
Conjoint Lecturer
image - 1314158526 Wendy Swift 013
Dr Wendy Swift
Consultancies and Vendor Staff
image - Jcopeland Pb Award 1
Honorary Professor
Ph 02 9385 0231
Project Main Description: 

The Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium (CCRC) is a collaboration which stemmed from the need to better address pressing questions about the relationship between cannabis, other drug use, life-course outcomes and mental health in children and young adults. The CCRC is a multi-organisational and multi-disciplinary international collaboration of researchers which consists of highly experienced individuals with expert knowledge from across the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, child and adolescent health, cannabis and other substance use, biomedicine, health and development, prevention, intervention and knowledge translation. The Consortium brings together researchers from some of the largest and most prolific longitudinal studies in the world. The CCRC aims to achieve its goals by involving partners in capacity building activities, and by providing capacity to allow collaborative work to proceed to high-level grant application stage. Collaboration between researchers involved in existing cohorts allows for better assessments of relationships to be made, uses existing data more efficiently and increases opportunities for knowledge translation. The cohorts involved are:

  • The Australian Temperament Project (ATP)
  • The Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS)
  • The Mater Hospital and University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP)
  • The Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project
  • The Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study (VAHCS)
  • The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study
Project Collaborators: External: 

Professor Steve Allsop (National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology)

Dr Denise Becker (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, University of Melbourne)

Dr Rohan Borschmann (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, University of Melbourne)

Associate Professor Raimondo Bruno (University of Tasmania)

Dr Carolyn Coffey (Centre for Adolescent Health, University of Melbourne)

Professor David Fergusson (Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago)

Professor Wayne Hall (School of Population Health, University of Queensland)

A/Professor John Horwood (Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago)

Dr Primrose Letcher (School of Paediatrics, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne)

Professor Jake Najman (Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education, University Of Queensland)

Dr Craig Olsson (Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University; Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne)

Professor George Patton (Centre for Adolescent Health, University of Melbourne)

Dr Maria Plotnikova (University of Queenslad)

Dr Helena Romaniuk (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, University of Melbourne)

Dr Rachel Skinner (Telethon Institute for Child Health, University of Western Australia)

Dr Elizabeth Spry (Murdoch Childrens Research Insitiute, University of Melbourne)

Dr Robert Tait (Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University)

Professor John Toumbourou (School of Psychology, Deakin University)

Dr George Youssef (Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University; Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne)

Aims: 

The Consortium aims to foster relations among partners; identify limitations in knowledge on patterns and causes of cannabis and other drug use, potential harms, and adverse outcomes; examine priority issues in an efficient and timely way through secondary data analysis of existing national and international cohorts; and, provide health and policy feedback to the commonwealth, health professionals and the public.

Design and Method: 

The Consortium aims to achieve its goals by involving partners in capacity building activities, and by providing capacity to allow collaborative work to proceed to high-level grant application stage. Collaboration between researchers involved in existing longitudinal cohorts allows for better assessments of relationships to be made, uses existing data more efficiently and increases opportunities for knowledge translation.

Progress/Update: 

Dr Silins, Dr Hutchinson, Prof Mattick and the broader Consortium have further developed methods and protocols for the integration of participant-level data from across several Australian and New Zealand longitudinal studies. The harmonized dataset has been extended to include additional harmonized variables. The team have been working together to prepare numerous peer review papers, and are applying the analytical techniques developed during earlier work to investigate the young adult outcomes of adolescent binge-drinking. An NHMRC Project Grant which builds on current work was developed.

Output: 

Numerous papers related to the current study on binge alcohol use are in preparation:  (1) Transition to  parenthood and alcohol use; and, (2) Young adult sequelae of adolescent alcohol use.

Published papers

Najman, JM., Plotnikova, M., Horwood, L John., Silins, E., Fergusson, DM., Patton, GC., Olsson, CA., Hutchinson, DM., Degenhardt, L., Tait, R., Youssef, G., Borschmann, R., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, JW., Mattick, RP., for the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. (2015). Is the association between alcohol and aggression causal: Parallel analyses from four Australasian cohort studies? American Journal of Public Health (under review).

Silins, E., Fergusson, DM., Patton, GC., Horwood, LJ., Olsson, CA., Hutchinson, DM., Degenhardt, L., Tait, RT., Borschmann, R., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, JW., Najman, JM., Mattick, RP., for the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. (2015) Adolescent substance use and educational attainment: An integrative data analysis comparing cannabis and alcohol from three Australasian cohorts. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 156, 90-96.

Hutchinson, D., Silins, E., Mattick, R., Patton, G, Fergusson, D., Hayatbakhsh, R., Toumbourou, J., Olsson, C., Najman, J., Spry, E., Tait, R., Degenhardt, L., Swift, W., Butterworth, P., Horwood, L John, for the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. (2015) How can data harmonization benefit mental health research? An example of the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49 (4), 317-323.

Silins, E. (2014, letter of reply) Rethinking dose-response effects of cannabis use in adolescence: Authors' reply. Lancet Psychiatry, 1 (6), 417-418.

Silins, E., Horwood, LJ., Patton, GC., Fergusson, DM., Olsson, CA., Hutchinson, DM., Spry, E., Toumbourou, JW., Degenhardt, L., Swift, W., Coffey, C., Tait, RT., Letcher, P., Copeland, J., Mattick, RP., for the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. (2014) Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: an integrative analysis. Lancet Psychiatry, 1(4), 286-293.

Horwood, J., Fergusson, D., Coffey, C., Patton, GC., Tait, R., Smart, D., Letcher, P., Silins, E., Hutchinson, D. (2012). Cannabis and depression: An integrative data analysis of four Australasian cohorts. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 126, 3, 369-378.

Horwood, J., Fergusson, D., Hayatbakhsh, M., Najman, J., Coffey, C., Patton, G., Silins, E., Hutchinson, D. (2010). Cannabis use and educational achievement: findings from three Australasian cohort studies. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 110, 247-253.

Workshops:

Data Harmonisation and Data Sharing Workshop (facilitated by Dr. D. Hutchinson and Associate Professor C. Olsson) (2011). Held for CCRC collaborators and other researchers, Deakin Prime, Melbourne, Australia.

Data Harmonisation and Data Sharing Workshop (facilitated by Associate Professor John Horwood) (2014). Held for CCRC collaborators and other researchers, Deakin Prime, Melbourne, Australia.

Presentations: (presenter underlined)

Silins, E., Fergusson, DM., Patton, GC., Horwood, L John., Olsson, CA., Hutchinson, DM., Degenhardt, L., Tait, R., Borschmann, R., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, JW., Najman, J., Mattick, RP., for the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. Adolescent substance use and educational attainment: An integrative data analysis comparing cannabis and alcohol from three Australasian cohorts. APSAD. Poster and poster highlight presentation. Perth, WA. November 2015.

Silins, E., Fergusson, D., Patton, G., Horwood, J., Olsson, C., Hutchinson, D., Degenhardt, L., Tait, R., Borschmann, R., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, J., Najman, J., Mattick, R.P., and the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium (CCRC). Adolescent substance use and educational attainment: An integrative data analysis comparing cannabis and alcohol from three Australasian cohorts. National Cannabis Conference. Melbourne. October 12th, 2015.

Silins, E., Horwood, J., Patton, G., Fergusson, D., Olsson, C., Hutchinson, D., Spry, E., Toumbourou, J., Degenhardt, L., Swift, W., Coffey, C., Tait, R., Letcher, P., Copeland, J., Mattick, R.P., and the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium (CCRC). Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: An integrative analysis across three Australasian Cohorts. IFPE. Bergen, Norway. October 9th, 2015.

Silins, E., Fergusson, DM., Patton, GC., Horwood, L John., Olsson, CA., Hutchinson, DM., Degenhardt, L., Tait, R., Borschmann, R., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, JW., Najman, J., Mattick, RP., for the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. Adolescent substance use and educational attainment: An integrative data analysis comparing cannabis and alcohol from three Australasian cohorts. College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Poster. Phoenix, AZ. 16th June 2015.

Silins, E., Fergusson, DM., Patton, GC., Horwood, L John., Olsson, CA., Hutchinson, DM., Degenhardt, L., Tait, R., Borschmann, R., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, JW., Najman, J., Mattick, RP., for the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. Adolescent substance use and educational attainment: An integrative data analysis comparing cannabis and alcohol from three Australasian cohorts. NIDA International Forum. Poster. Phoenix, AZ. 15th June 2015.

Silins, E., Horwood, J., Patton, G., Fergusson, D., Olsson, C., Hutchinson, D., Spry, E., Toumbourou, J., Degenhardt, L., Swift, W., Coffey, C., Tait, R., Letcher, P., Copeland, J., Mattick, R.P., and the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium (CCRC). Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: An integrative analysis across three Australasian Cohorts. APSAD. Adelaide, SA. November 12th, 2014.

Silins, E., Olsson, C., Horwood, J., Hutchinson, D., Spry, E., Patton, G., Fergusson, D., Toumbourou, J.W., Mattick, R., & the Cannabis Cohort Research Consortium. Early onset cannabis use and young adult outcomes: An integrative data analysis of three Australasian cohorts. Poster. NIDA International Forum. San Diego, CA. June 17th, 2013.

Silins, E., Olsson, C., Horwood, J., Hutchinson, D., Spry, E., Patton, G., Fergusson, D., Toumbourou, J.W., Mattick, R., & the Cannabis Cohort Research Consortium. Early onset cannabis use and young adult outcomes: An integrative data analysis of three Australasian cohorts. Poster. CPDD. San Diego, CA. June 18th, 2013.

Silins, E., Olsson, C., Horwood, J., Hutchinson, D., Spry, E., Patton, G., Fergusson, D., Toumbourou, J.W., Mattick, R., & the Cannabis Cohort Research Consortium. Early onset cannabis use and young adult outcomes: An integrative data analysis of three Australasian cohorts. Poster. APSAD. Brisbane, QLD. November 26th, 2013.

Silins, E., Olsson, C., Horwood, J., Hutchinson, D., Patton, G., Fergusson, D., Toumbourou, J., Spry, E., Mattick, R., & the Cannabis Cohort Research Consortium.  Early onset cannabis use and young adult outcomes: An integrative data analysis of three Australasian cohorts. Published proceedings, p13. NDARC Annual Symposium, Sydney, NSW. September 4th, 2013.

Silins, E., Olsson, C.,  Patton, G., Horwood, L. John,  Fergusson, D., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, J., Hutchinson, D., Spry, E.,  Degenhardt, L., Swift, W., Hayatbakhsh, R., Mattick, R., Allsop, S., Copeland, J., Hall, W., Skinner, R., Tait, R. Adolescent cannabis use and young adult outcomes: An integrative data analysis of three Australasian cohorts. Adolescent Health Research Forum, Sydney Childrens Hospital, Randwick, NSW. May 22nd, 2013. Invited speaker.

Silins, E., Patton, G., Horwood, J., Fergusson, D., Letcher, P., Coffey, C.,  Toumbourou, J., Hutchinson, D.,  Spry, E., Degenhardt, L., Swift, W,. Hayatbakhsh, M., Mattick, R,. Olsson, C.,  Allsop, S., Copeland, J., Hall, W., Skinner, R., Slade, T., Tait, R.  Early onset cannabis use and young adult outcomes: A prognostic study across three Australasian cohorts. Published proceedings, p16. National Cannabis Conference, Brisbane, QLD. September 20th, 2012.

Olsson, C., Horwood, J., Silins, E., Hutchinson, D., Spry, E., Patton, G., Toumbourou, J., Fergusson, D., Mattick, R., Degenhardt, L., Hayatbakhsh, M., Swift, W., Allsop, S., Coffey, C., Copeland, J., Hall, W.,  O’Connor, M., Skinner, R., Slade, Tim., Tait, R.  Genetic prediction of early onset cannabis use and young adult outcomes: A consortium based approach to well powered studies of genetic risk. Published proceedings, p16. National Cannabis Conference, Brisbane, QLD. September 20th, 2012.

Van Ours, J., Williams, J., Fergusson, D., Horwood, L.J. Cannabis use and suicidal ideation.National Cannabis Conference, Brisbane, QLD. September 20th, 2012.

Project Research Area: 
Project Status: 
Current