State premiers are being urged to fix outdated road laws that effectively ban medicinal cannabis patients from driving even if they haven’t used cannabis for days.
Thousands of medicinal cannabis patients across 6 states and territories could be allowed back behind the wheel if the proposal by drug policy nonprofit Penington Institute is adopted.
Under current laws, it is illegal for a person to drive with medicinal cannabis in their system in all states and territories except Tasmania, even if they are driving responsibly and are not impaired by the drug.
However, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, can linger in a person’s system for weeks and can be detected long after any potential impairment has occurred.
Penington Institute CEO John Ryan has written to premiers and chief ministers in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, NSW, ACT and South Australia to urge them to amend their road laws to fix the issue.
Victoria recently changed its road laws to give magistrates discretion to decide whether to impose a fine or a license suspension on drivers who tested positive for THC in cases where the driver had used medicinal cannabis in line with doctor advice and was not impaired by it.
The letter from Penington Institute CEO John Ryan says:
Nobody should drive while they are impaired by any substance, including prescribed drugs such as medicinal cannabis. But patients who are not impaired and are using medicinal cannabis as directed by their doctor pose little if any safety risk and should be treated accordingly.
I urge you to address this inequity between medicinal cannabis patients and those who are prescribed other medications.
Medical cannabis patients should not be forced to choose between their medicine and their mobility.
Penington Institute CEO John Ryan is available for interview.
To arrange an interview, contact Communications Manager William Summers on 0434 275 792 or email media@penington.org.au.
Penington Institute is an independent, evidence-based not-for-profit organisation that supports cost-effective approaches of maximising community health and safety in relation to drugs, including pharmaceuticals and alcohol. For more information go to www.penington.org.au.
John Ryan is a leader in public health and safety and the inaugural CEO of Penington Institute. John actively works to promote sensible and harm-minimising approaches to drug use in the community and provides expert advice, including to governments.
