State and territory leaders are once again facing calls to stop penalising medicinal cannabis patients simply for getting behind the wheel of a car.
The Penington Institute has written to six state premiers in a renewed push to reform Australia's drug-driving laws, calling on them to "address the inequality" experienced by patients prescribed THC-based medicine.
In an argument that reform advocates have now raised repeatedly — and which governments have largely ignored — Penington chief executive John Ryan said medicinal cannabis patients should not be put in the position of having to choose between their health and the risk of breaking the law.
Pointing to the unequal treatment of medicinal cannabis patients, Ryan wrote: "Drivers who test positive for other prescription medicines, including opioids, benzodiazepines and sleeping pills, are not penalised if they are not impaired.
"However, medicinal cannabis patients are provided no leeway for the presence of THC, even if they are using their medication as prescribed and driving responsibly.
"I urge you to address this inequity between medicinal cannabis patients and those who are prescribed other medications. Medical cannabis patients should not be forced to choose between their medicine and their mobility."
Ryan made clear that anyone whose driving is affected by any substance — including medicinal cannabis — should be held accountable. His concern was with the prosecution of patients who show no signs of impairment but return a positive roadside test for THC.
"In some cases, THC may linger in a person's system for several days after using medicinal cannabis, meaning drivers are not impaired but may still test positive at a roadside test," he said.
The letter — addressed to premiers in WA, Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, the ACT and South Australia — noted that Tasmania already provides medicinal cannabis patients with a formal legal defence against drug-impaired driving charges.
Ryan also pointed to recent legislative changes in Victoria, where magistrates now have the discretion to impose a fine or licence suspension — rather than an automatic conviction — when a driver tests positive for THC but was using medicinal cannabis in accordance with their doctor's advice and showed no impairment.
"[Other states] should consider these examples and amend [their] driving laws to rectify the issue accordingly," he said.
