Key MP Craig Garland caught in cannabis test, calls for decriminalisation

One of Tasmania’s balance-of-power MPs has been nabbed for alleged drug driving but defended his – and everyone’s - right to occasionally smoke marijuana.

Tasmanian independent MP Craig Garland, a former fisherman, is now an MP for the western seat of Braddon. Picture: Chris Kidd

One of Tasmania’s balance of power MPs has been nabbed for alleged drug driving, expressing “embarrassment” but defending his – and everyone’s - right to smoke the occasional marijuana joint.

Independent Craig Garland told The Weekend Australian he tested positive for cannabis at a roadside police check in Smithton, in the state’s northwest, last Friday, having smoked a joint the night before.

While regretful – mostly due to his mother’s disapproval and his 11-year-old demanding an “embarrassment tax” – he does not expect it to impact his ability to remain an MP for the western seat of Braddon.

And the former fisherman said he hoped his alleged transgression would spark debate on decriminalising “one or two plants” of cannabis for personal use.

“I hope it will lead into a bigger discussion about cannabis,” said the 60-year-old, tee-totalling, first-time MP. “This is a very beneficial substance to a lot of people.

“There’s not been one recorded death from marijuana. The worst thing you’re gonna feel is a bit drowsy or a bit slow of a morning after you’ve had some. I can’t see what the problem is.”

He said he had long smoked cannabis for relief from arthritis-like pain, as well as socially, as an alternative to alcohol.

“I’m not ashamed – I’m not getting up in the morning and having 16 cones; I just roll a little one paper,” he said.

Loss of his driving licence may be a logistical problem for the colourful MP. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mr Garland said the policeman who tested him said if he had been taking approved medicinal cannabis, “I would have been able to drive off” without charge or penalty.

However, he believed the process to obtain medical cannabis was “a stitch up”, and he had concerns about the cost, quality and pesticide-content of medically-grown cannabis.

Instead, he called for a law change to allow people to grow “one or two plants” for personal use.

While still awaiting the outcome of a blood sample, he expected it to confirm the roadside test.

Loss of his driving licence may be a logistical problem for the colourful MP, whose electorate is vast and whose remote Montagu home is a five-hour drive to State Parliament in Hobart.

However, Mr Garland said he was usually accompanied to parliament by a staffer, who would have to drive if his licence was suspended.

The biggest repercussions were closer to home, with his 93-year-old mother unimpressed, his 11-year-old daughter Gracie demanding “a $500 embarrassment tax” and his son Arthur having just received a “role model award” at school.

“I’m a little bit embarrassed, mostly for my mother’s sake,” he said. He had “specks” or “a fraction of a gram” of marijuana in his tobacco pouch at the time.