Details have finally emerged of government legislation that would end automatic driving bans for medicinal cannabis patients in New South Wales solely because THC is detected in their system.
If passed, the reform would require drivers with an unrestricted licence to register as medicinal cannabis patients with Transport for NSW, provide evidence of a valid prescription and complete an online education program focused on cannabis and driving safety.
Registered patients would still be subject to roadside drug testing. However, rather than automatically receiving a penalty, drivers who return a positive roadside test would face an immediate 24-hour driving ban while their sample is sent for laboratory analysis.
If the lab result falls below a prescribed threshold – which is yet to be detailed – no further action would be taken.
Patients whose result exceeds the threshold would receive warning letters for a first or second detection within a two-year period, intended to allow them to adjust dosages and continue driving.
A third detection, however, would incur a $704 fine and a minimum three-month licence suspension.
The proposed reforms would not apply to learner, provisional or commercial drivers.
The announcement follows months of lobbying by drug advocacy group Unharm, with support from independent MP Alex Greenwich and Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham.
Other bodies and individuals, including Drive Change and former Victoria MP Fiona Patten have also fought long and hard for reform across the country.
NSW premier Chris Minns revealed in March the Labor government was working on reforms, with campaigners at the time expecting a roadside defence model that would allow unimpaired patients to continue driving without an automatic penalty.
The reforms were delayed in April, before campaigners said last month that the government was on the verge of introducing a bill.
Unharm chief executive Will Tregoning told Cannabiz he was “feeling relieved” after receiving confirmation the state government would follow through on the proposal.
“It’s been overdue – the law should have been updated in 2016, so patients have had 10 years waiting for it to catch up,” he said. “It’s a big relief to finally have a concrete proposal on the table from government.”
While broadly supportive of the proposal, Tregoning said the THC threshold adopted by the government would require careful scrutiny.
“The issue is that patients who aren’t impaired could still be above any maximum threshold set,” he said.
“The science is complicated – there’s no direct link between saliva and impairment, but there is a reasonably predictable rate at which saliva presence declines over time.
“The goal is to ensure thresholds are set carefully so unimpaired patients aren’t penalised unfairly.”
The government is expected to formally introduce the legislation in the final sitting week of June, with a review of the reform planned after one year, if it is passed. Tregoning said he was confident it would be.
“Labor is backing the reform and will vote on party lines in the lower house,” he said.
“In the upper house, a couple of weeks ago Jeremy Buckingham moved a motion supporting reform to enable unimpaired medicinal cannabis patients to drive – no legislation attached, but it effectively tested the numbers.
“That motion passed, demonstrating support exists in the upper house. Based on both houses, it looks good.”
Legalise Cannabis NSW welcomed the proposal, with state director Craig Ellis describing the reforms as “finally an acknowledgement that presence is not the same as impairment”.
While supporting the changes, he said the party would seek amendments during the parliamentary process, including a defence for patients who hold a valid prescription and are unimpaired but are not registered under the scheme.
“This is just a start,” Ellis said. “There is more work to do on this bill and the broader fight to fix roadside drug testing continues.”
