SA Greens to propose laws that would allow medicinal cannabis patients to drive

Medicinal cannabis users could get behind the wheel without being charged with drug driving under new laws to be proposed in parliament.

People who drive with cannabis in their system would be exempt from police action if they hold a valid doctor’s prescription and aren’t high, under new laws proposed by the SA Greens.

Tammy Franks MLC says current laws unfairly discriminate against medicinal cannabis users, who would be treated like any other drug driver if they returned a positive result for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at a roadside test – even if they aren’t impaired.

On Wednesday, Ms Franks will introduce a new Bill to parliament that would protect such drivers, by giving them a “complete defence” to the presence of THC if they possessed a valid doctor’s prescription.

The defence would be dismissed, however, if an officer suspects on reasonable grounds that a driver is impaired – or if the offending involves dangerous or reckless driving.

“Medicinal cannabis patients should be treated in the exact same way as any other patient who is prescribed a medication and should be allowed to drive if it is safe to do so,” Ms Franks said.

SA Greens MLC Tammy Franks will introduce her Bill on Wednesday.

The proposals are similar to a Bill currently before the Victorian parliament, which secured the support of the Labor government.

Adelaide GP and member of the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association Dr Joel Wren said the level of product within a given person was not easy to quantify.

However, Dr Wren said: “As a prescriber I have to advise against driving because any risk of losing your licence is going to be significant (to the patient)”.

He said he could not prescibe cannabis with informed consent if patients are not made aware they may lose their licence, which could be a considerable risk to their lives.

“Almost all products that have THC in it can be balanced with cannabidiol (CBD) as well to mitigate or reduce any potential psycho-activity.”

Dr Wren said he supported the SA Greens’ proposals, “because the current laws are extremely prohibitive for access to a therapy that has a lot of potential”.

The two cannabis products currently in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods are Sativex and Epidyolex.

The proposed laws would make it legal for medicinal cannabis users to drive cars, as long as they aren’t impaired. File picture

All other medicinal cannabis products are considered “unapproved”, which can be accessed through the Special Access Scheme (SAS).

A Therapeutic Goods Administration spokesman said SA practitioners made 1113 applications for unapproved medicinal cannabis products to date. The number does not equal the actual number of patients receiving such medication.

“SAS applications contain de-identified information and it is not possible for the TGA to accurately calculate patient numbers,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman also said 172 patients accessed these products through authorised prescribers across SA.

Before introducing her Bill, Ms Franks will host a round table discussion at 1pm on Wednesday, hosted by former NSW Magistrate Adjunct Professor David Heilpern.

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Originally published as SA Greens to propose laws that would allow medicinal cannabis patients to drive