New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced today that the state government will prepare legislation to reform roadside drug testing rules for medicinal cannabis patients, though the specifics of what that reform will include remain undefined.
Speaking at a budget estimates hearing, Minns said Labor would not back a private members bill introduced last November by independent MP Alex Greenwich, but confirmed the government was "actively considering a change in the policy" and intended to draft its own bill.
He offered no timeline and gave no details about what the proposed legislation might contain.
"I think the latest information I had is there were a million [medicinal cannabis] prescriptions in NSW," the premier said. "My understanding is the former premier of NSW Mike Baird was a big driver of accessing medicinal cannabis.
"But as a result of those changes, we're seeing hundreds of thousands of people accessing it as a legitimate health alternative to even more powerful drugs, and we think we need a fit-for-purpose regime on New South Wales roads so that we're not disenfranchising people, particularly in regional communities, from driving.
"We will draft our own legislation… we're actively considering a change in the policy."
Greenwich welcomed the announcement as good news for patients "who have been unfairly punished for using a lawfully prescribed medicine".
"Now we can continue to support people's health and wellbeing without the risk of them being taken off the road," he said.
"As someone prescribed medicinal cannabis for anxiety and insomnia, I share this relief with the thousands of patients living in New South Wales who have reported having a script for medicinal cannabis."
He added: "Allowing medicinal cannabis patients who are not impaired to drive gives them the flexibility to drive to work or care for their loved ones, instead of forcing a choice between taking the medication or driving.
"There's been enough debate about changing the law. The time for doing something is now and that action will make a huge difference to the lives of people who are prescribed medicinal cannabis."
Legalise Cannabis Party MP Jeremy Buckingham, who has campaigned on this issue for years, called the Premier's comments "acknowledgement the state's medicinal cannabis driving laws are not fit for purpose and that legislated reform is needed".
"We stand ready to work towards new laws that protect road safety and ensure the hundreds of thousands of people who use medicinal cannabis are not discriminated against," he said.
Changes to the existing laws — which treat even trace amounts of THC in a driver's system as an offence — were backed by the NSW Drug Summit, which last year called on the government to treat updating the legislation as a "priority".
The Premier's stance appears to have shifted since the government's formal Drug Summit response in October, when it resisted calls to introduce a defence for drivers holding a valid prescription.
