Medicinal cannabis lands Caitlin Mackellar in Toowoomba court for drug driving

A former cancer patient fronted Toowoomba court after she was busted driving on prescription cannabis for a third time.

A former cancer patient who was prescribed medicinal cannabis for pain management has lost her licence for half a year for driving with the drug in her system.

In Queensland, it is illegal for road users to drive with any trace of THC, despite the Queensland government passing the Medicinal Cannabis Act in 2013, allowing the drug to be prescribed by medical professionals.

A Toowoomba court was told Caitlin Leigh Mackellar was on her way to work at 7.45am when she was pulled over at a stationary testing site along Alderley St on May 30.

The medicinal cannabis patient told officers she was prescribed the drug before they tested her.

Medicinal cannabis patient Caitlin Leigh Mackellar fronted court for the third time in 18 months for driving with THC in her system.

Solicitor Michael Corbin said Mackellar started using medicinal cannabis for pain management after she had her lymph nodes and glands removed following a cancer diagnosis.

He said the budding tattooist tried several other pain management strategies before obtaining the prescription.

Mr Corbin reiterated it was a routine traffic stop, noting Mackellar’s manner of driving did not draw the attention of the police.

Magistrate Kay Philipson said the issue was that Mackellar was well aware she could not drive with the drug in her system, and was convicted of three drug drive charges within 18 months.

A number of medicinal cannabis patient’s pass through Toowoomba Magistrates weekly, on drug driving charges.

“The reality is… she essentially can’t drive because it stays in your system and the offence is you can’t have it in your system… and she knows that,” the magistrate said.

“Why should she keep getting the benefit when no one else does?”

Ms Philipson said it was irrelevant whether she needed to drive to work or not.

“Whether it is fair or not, I don’t make the laws, I just enforce them,” she said.

The young woman asked her lawyer if there were any legal options for medicinal cannabis.

“Not yet,” Mr Corbin told her.

The Queensland government confirmed it was reviewing driving laws surrounding medicinal cannabis following an increase in drug driving offences.

Department of Transport and Main Roads deputy director-general Andrew Mahon, said the government was aware of the challenges surrounding cannabis drug driving, noting it was a “very complex and difficult one to solve”.

“However, cannabis and other drugs continue to be prohibited while driving,” he said in August 2022.

Brisbane medicinal cannabis specialist Laurence Kemp told The Courier Mail in late 2022, the drug did impair drivers, but it wore off after eight hours - however THC can stay in a person’s system for days.

The Toowoomba court heard Caitlin Mackellar was working towards getting her tattooist licence, and her partner owned a parlour at Maryborough.

The court was told Mackellar had no criminal history, however her traffic history was growing.

When sentenced, Ms Philipson reiterated, regardless of whether the drug was legally ingested or not, the “short answer is you cannot drive… because it is an offence to drive with a relevant drug, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in your system”.

“I note also that on the last two occasions, you had two convictions recorded,” she said.

“I find it difficult in the circumstances to see why I wouldn’t record a conviction today, particularly given it’s your third offence of a like nature.”

At the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on September 14, when Mackellar pleaded guilty to driving with a relevant drug in her system, she was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for six months.

A conviction was recorded.