Allan Government to Consider Medicinal Cannabis Legal Driving Defence

Thursday August 1st, 2024

Legalise Cannabis Victoria (LCV) has welcomed the Allan government’s commitment to consider a legal defence for medicinal cannabis prescription holders who screen positive at roadside drug testing stops.

“It was great news that the government, opposition and crossbench all backed this LCV motion in Parliament,” said LCV’s David Ettershank.

“And we were happy to support a government amendment that commits to a consultation process with key government, legal and community stakeholders, and then report back on October 18.

Consider the Victorians struggling to manage pain

“As the government consults with key stakeholders, we urge them to remember the thousands of Victorians who use medicinal cannabis to manage conditions like chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and cancer.

“I’ve heard from people using medicinal cannabis. who say that for the first time their pain is under control and there are no side effects, but that now they live in fear – scared they will be tested by police and lose their licence.

“Some are too afraid to take a medication that works because they need a licence for work.

“I also implore the Premier to consider the many Victorians who struggle with pain and want to try medicinal cannabis. They have had adverse reactions to opioids and benzodiazepines – but our uncompromising road laws are a deterrent. Instead, these people live with pain.”

***MPs David Ettershank and Rachel Payne with Victorians Will and Alice celebrate the government’s pledge to consider a legal driving defence for cannabis patients.***

Drug tests don’t measure driver impairment

Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne said it was important to remember the roadside saliva tests do not determine whether a driver is impaired.

“The tests used by police detect the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (the psychoactive compound in cannabis) – often just small traces from medication consumed hours or days before that have no impact on a person’s driving.

“As the law stands, ordinary Victorians are losing their licence just for taking a medication as directed by their doctor while there is nothing wrong with their driving.”

The proposal for a legal defence for medical cannabis patients is being considered on the grounds that the driver is not impaired, and the medication is taken in accordance with their prescription.

Key Facts

Victorian police carry out some 150,000 roadside drug tests every year, which can pick up minute traces of the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) detected in saliva days after taking medicinal cannabis.
Every year more than 7,000 Victorians lose their license for the presence of drugs in their system.
More than 1.2 million prescriptions for medicinal cannabis have been issued in Australia since 2019. (Some patients get more than one prescription, there are no available statistics for the number of Australians using medicinal cannabis.)
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare one in two consumers of medical cannabis use it to treat chronic pain. A 2022 peer-reviewed paper by Sydney researchers reached a similar conclusion – 52 per cent of prescription holders were using medicinal cannabis to treat chronic pain.

Media contact: Christine Tondorf
Mobile: 0413 307 092