New South Wales medical marijuana patients’ hopes of being able to safely drive unimpaired in Australia have now been crushed.
New South Wales, like most Australian states also makes it illegal to drive with detectable levels of cannabinoid, THC. Even if the driver is not impaired, this drug will make them feel euphoric. As THC can be detected up to weeks after it was last consumed, this leaves many patients legally prescribed cannabis with even only trace levels of THC a difficult choice – forego their medicine or risk prosecution.
A recommendation from the 2024 NSW Drug Summit was that as soon as possible, a legal defence be created for those who use cannabis legally prescribed and are not impaired while driving.
- The police can evaluate the defense at the roadside, or a judge may do so.
- Guidelines that have been developed by the relevant agencies of government (such as Transport, Health, Police and Justice), to assist in implementation.
- a review after 12 months.
NSW Government has finally responded Supporting or supporting more than 50 of the recommendations made by the Drug Summit. The Drug Summit’s recommendations did not include a driving defense for medical marijuana patients.
NSW State Government states that while they acknowledge the health benefits of cannabis, more consideration should be given to THC and its role in automobile accidents.
THC can increase the risk of a car crash and affect skills required for safe driving. The data from NSW shows that 16% fatal accidents involve THC. This research is also based on the available information.
It was not stated what percentage of these incidents involved a driver who had been prescribed marijuana.
Minns Government states that there are many different approaches in place to tackle this difficult issue, and more time must be spent studying them.
To carefully examine the impacts of the different models, NSW Government created an Expert Working Group. The Group will assess evidence, analyze reform options, safeguards, as well as whole-of-government implementation considerations. By the end of 2020, The Group should provide government with recommendations.
It’s hard to say when the NSW Government is going to finish reviewing any of the findings.