The New South Wales government has introduced new laws that exempt medicinal cannabis patients from drug driving charges if they test positive for THC below a certain threshold.
The new laws will maintain strong road safety protections. Drivers who are prescribed medicinal cannabis and test positive for THC below the maximum threshold, will not face charges.
Patients are required to register their prescription with Transport for NSW and complete a driver training course. The reform comes more than a year after the 2024 Drug Summit recommended a medical defence for drivers using prescribed cannabis. Drivers using medicinal cannabis who test positive for a tiny amount of its active ingredient are set to avoid drug driving charges in New South Wales.
The Labor government plans to introduce a legal limit on the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, a driver can have in their system if they have a prescription. Whilst it will remain an offence for most drivers to have any trace of THC in their system, medicinal cannabis patients would be exempt if a laboratory test found their saliva had fewer than 50 nanograms per millilitre of THC.
If the laboratory result shows THC below the maximum threshold there will be no charge or further action. But unlike the testing regime for alcohol, drivers caught with the presence of the drug on a tongue swab would face an immediate 24-hour driving ban, even if the subsequent sample turned out to be below the legal limit.
"For the people at the roadside, very little will change," Jenny Aitchison, the Minister for Roads, told the ABC. ) A warning system would be implemented so that medicinal cannabis patients who return a lab result over the 50 ng/mL limit would get two "strikes" before they are charged with an offence. The government said the policy would enable drivers to adjust their dose accordingly, with the two warnings to reset every two years.
A medicinal cannabis patient caught over the THC limit for a third time would face the usual penalties for drug driving: a $704 fine and a minimum three-month licence suspension for the first offence. Ms Aitchison said the new testing regime would generally pick up THC for only "a couple of hours" after the medication was taken.
"Someone who maybe takes it the night before for some medication, say they get anxiety and they drive the next day, they generally would not even be detected on these levels," she said. Patients would be required to register their prescription with Transport for NSW and complete training on how cannabis affects driving.
"What we're doing is walking that delicate line between ensuring we maintain road safety but also that we enable people who have a prescribed medication to be able to drive," Ms Aitchison said. The reform comes more than a year after the 2024 Drug Summit recommended a medical defence for drivers using prescribed cannabis, including an option for it to be assessed at the roadside.
At first, the government did not accept the recommendation, citing the need to seek further advice from bureaucrats. Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, who uses medicinal cannabis himself, introduced a private members bill in November to put pressure on the government. In March, Premier Chris Minns revealed at budget estimates the government would draft its own legislation.
"I know firsthand the positive effects can have for sleep and anxiety management,""This reform provides medicinal cannabis patients with a new level of freedom and opportunity. " Former marine Jason Frost is among the hundreds of thousands of medicinal cannabis patients in New South Wales. As a resident outside the regional city of Wagga Wagga, the ex-serviceman depends on his car to get around.
"If I do need to go into town or go see my family or come in and volunteer, I've literally got to drive and make a decision on whether or not I take my medicine that day," Mr Frost told the ABC. "Or if I take the risk of taking the medicine and then getting pulled over and then having to potentially lose my licence.
Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham, who sponsored Mr Greenwich's bill, said although the threshold was "relatively low", the reform was "significant progress".
"If over the threshold they don't automatically lose their licence," Mr Buckingham said. The reform would only apply to drivers on an unrestricted licence and registered users would still be subject to blood and urine testing following serious crashes.
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