On the 17th of November 2021, Cate Faehrmann introduced the Road Transport Amendment Bill (Medicinal Cannabis – Exemptions from Offences) Bill 2021 to the NSW Legislative Council.
The bill provides an exemption from a drug driving offence if an individual has been prescribed and used a medicinal cannabis product in accordance with the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 or a corresponding Act of another State or Territory.
Currently, consumers of prescribed medicinal cannabis face the risk of being charged with a drug driving offence if THC is detected in their system during a roadside drug test. It has been demonstrated that medicinal cannabis patients can test positive for THC well after consuming or experiencing impairment from medicine.
The bill seeks to address the injustice that is faced by the thousands of patients of legally prescribed medicinal cannabis who are at risk of a drug-driving offence and other unintended consequences.
The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Norway, Germany, and Ireland, all provide for a ‘medical defence’ for prescribed users of medicinal cannabis.
Tasmania is the only Australian state that currently provides a defence for medicinal cannabis users against a drug driving charge.
Similar legislation is before the Victorian and South Australian parliaments.
The bill will not be up for debate until 2022.
A link to the bill and 2nd reading speech can be found here.
