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Amnesty plea to allow medicinal cannabis users behind the wheel
A world-first Victorian trial into whether users of medicinal cannabis can drive safely has sparked a push from lawyers and MPs to protect motorists who use the treatment from prosecution during the 18-month test.
The use of medicinal cannabis has surged in Victoria, up 700 per cent over the past two years, according to the state government. But it is illegal to drive with any trace of THC – a compound found in cannabis that can remain in the body for days – in your system.
Medicinal cannabis is legal, but driving with traces of THC in your system is not.Credit: Janie Barrett
The Allan government recently committed $4.9 million to a Swinburne University trial examining how medicinal cannabis affected driving ability, in the hope patients can be allowed to get behind the wheel.
The trial, due to start soon, has prompted a new campaign from lawyers and advocates who argue the 18-month testing period is too long for the growing number of people who have been prescribed the treatment – but must choose between using it and driving.
The Legalise Cannabis party, which advocated for the trial, intends to raise the matter in parliament. It is calling for an amnesty or rule change to reduce the risk of prosecution of medicinal cannabis users while the research is completed.
MP David Ettershank said the government last year provided a letter of comfort indicating the trial and its results could be completed by 2024.
“This is not just kicking the can down the road to 2026, it’s kicking the can into the next parliament. Which means we won’t see anything in a best-case scenario until 2027,” Ettershank said. The next state election is due in 2026.
“It is bitterly disappointing for the medicinal cannabis patients, just devastating.
“If you live in the outer suburbs, or you live in regional Victoria, where in both cases you’ve got very limited access to public transport, the options are pretty bleak.”
Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Greg Barns said he had represented multiple medicinal cannabis users who had been prosecuted, including one who was on the way to pick up their prescription.
Legalise Cannabis MPs David Ettershank and Rachel Payne.Credit: Joe Armao
“The law is not only absurd, it is a serious injustice,” he said.
“The legislature has not kept up with the fact that medicinal cannabis has been around now for eight or nine years.
“There’s no discretion, you’ve got to lose your licence. So, at the very least, magistrates should have been given discretion to not impose a conviction.”
Truck driver William, who asked that his surname not be published to protect his privacy, has had to stop taking medicinal cannabis after testing positive to THC while driving in 2020.
Truck driver Will has had to stop taking medicinal cannabis after testing positive ruined his livelihood.Credit: Chris Hopkins
He said it meant he was enduring more pain from scoliosis now he was back on his old medication.
“It’s hard, especially if you’re prescribed [medicinal cannabis], and it actually makes your life better [that] you’re not allowed to take it,” he said.
“I lost my job, lost my house, lost my truck and lost my business. I don’t want to see other people have to go through that.”
Lawyer Andrew Shears, the principal at Andrew Shears and Co, said the law discriminated against patients, and called for a consistent defence for all medicines.
“Judicial discretion in relation to licence loss would be of significant benefit to patients – currently a magistrate has no option but to take someone’s licence for a mandatory minimum of six months,” he said.
“People are losing their driver’s licences for a mandatory minimum of six months, for doing nothing other than driving the day after they took their medication.”
A Victorian government spokesperson said there was nowhere in the world that had a standard way of measuring impairment from medicinal cannabis.
“We will never compromise on road safety, and that’s why we’ve engaged Swinburne in this world first trial to take an evidence-based approach to ensure we get this right,” the spokesperson said.
Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne said she regularly spoke to patients who believed their prescription medicine impaired them more than medicinal cannabis, or had caused further risk because of drug dependency or mental health problems.
“Particularly for women with endometriosis, there is a high risk of dependency on opioids because you keep taking more and more, and they’re finding that it’s not really that effective,” she said.
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