Introducing a medical defence for prescribed cannabis patients facing drug-driving charges should be a “priority” for the New South Wales Government, a report from the state’s Drug Summit has concluded.
The recommendation was one of 56 contained in the report, which was published yesterday.
Under a ‘cannabis and driving’ section, it proposes the law be changed to provide a legal defence for prescribed medicinal cannabis patients who return a positive roadside test for THC and who are not impaired.
It also suggests that police at the roadside, in addition to the courts, should have the ability to “assess the defence”, with the new laws to be reviewed after 12 months.
The recommendation was immediately welcomed by campaigners, including Legalise Cannabis Party politicians, who said the law change should be implemented “without delay”.
The report itself urged the government to act “swiftly” on each of the proposals, suggesting they should be “fully actioned” over the next 12 to 24 months.
While that timeframe may disappoint reformers, Legalise Cannabis NSW MP Jeremy Buckingham described it as a “a long overdue breakthrough”.
“This is about fairness, science, and good policy,” he said. “You can legally be prescribed opioids, benzodiazepines, or antidepressants and still drive, so long as you’re not impaired. Medicinal cannabis patients deserve the same right.”
He added: “This recommendation is a breakthrough for patient equality and the principle of harm reduction. We’ve been fighting for this change for years. If legislated, it will finally bring cannabis in line with other prescribed medicines.
“We need driving laws that test for impairment — not mere presence. Presence does not equal intoxication. The current laws are unjust and outdated. They punish patients who are doing the right thing.”
Writing in the 52-page report, which followed four days of the Drug Summit in regional NSW and Sydney last year, co-chairs Carmel Tebbutt and John Brogden said the recommendations will “change and improve the lives of many citizens of NSW”.
“The sheer breadth and number of recommendations requires us to identify priorities,” they wrote. “In doing so we have chosen actions that we ask the government act on swiftly.
“We consider the priorities selected – and where needed the funding, policy and legislation required – can be commenced or fully actioned over the next one to two years.”