The New South Wales Government has resisted calls to introduce a medical cannabis driving defence, opting instead to gather further expert advice despite broad support for harm-reduction reforms emerging from last year’s Drug Summit.
In its formal response to the summit’s 56 recommendations, the government said the issue of a driving defence for prescribed cannabis patients required more evidence before any legal change could be considered.
While acknowledging the benefits of the medicine and the challenges for people who need to drive, the government said THC “can affect the skills needed for safe driving and increase crash risk”.
“This is based on available research as well as data in NSW that shows 16% of fatal crashes involve THC,” the report said.
An Expert Working Group has been established to assess evidence, safeguards and reform options, and will report to the government by the end of the year.
Until then – at the very least – the state’s zero-tolerance roadside testing regime will remain in place.
The decision comes nearly 18 months after the state’s Drug Summit report first urged the government to introduce a medical cannabis driving defence “without delay”, a recommendation described at the time as a “breakthrough” for patient equality and harm reduction.
Legal, medical and patient advocates renewed the discussion at a forum in September, ahead of the government’s long-awaited response to the Drug Summit, with experts arguing science backed the need for reform.
While the move to establish a working group may appear to be progress on paper, NSW remains behind some other jurisdictions in updating its road safety laws.
Tasmania has permitted unimpaired patients to drive since legislation in 2016, while late last year Victoria partially reformed its rules with magistrates given the power to allow unimpaired patients to retain their licence if they are charged for THC presence.
Cannabis Council Australia chief executive Lisa Penlington said the creation of the working group was “an important step forward,” but urged the government to include medicinal cannabis expertise and deliver “a clear, evidence-based framework within 12 months”.
The report also confirmed several broader drug-policy measures unrelated to the medical framework, including updates to the Cannabis Cautioning Scheme and reduced waiting periods for spent convictions.