Alex Greenwich Fights For Reform & Shares He Has A Medicinal Cannabis Prescription Himself

Independent MP Alex Greenwich is calling for reforms for drivers who have been prescribed medical cannabis, and discussed his own cannabis prescription in parliament yesterday.

The Member for Sydney, alongside Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham, Wagga Wagga Independent MP Joe McGirr and Speaker Greg Piper, are pushing Labor to introduce exemptions for medical cannabis users from the offence of driving with the presence of the drug in their system.

In a joint letter addressed to Premier Chris Minns, and Regional Roads Minister, Jenny Aitchison, the MPs argued that medicinal cannabis patients who hold a valid prescription should be exempt from penalty if they are not impaired but do return a positive roadside test for THC.

Greenwich asked Aitchison to work with them on the issue in Question Time on Tuesday.

“Like over 100,000 people in NSW, I have a script for medical cannabis. It helps me manage anxiety and insomnia,” he told the Legislative Assembly.

“But THC can be detected for days, if not weeks, after it no longer impacts driving.”

Government seriously considering issue

A legislated medical defence for drivers using medically prescribed cannabis was one of the recommendations to come out of the state’s drug summit last year. Aitchison said the government was seriously considering the matter, and would be responding formally at the end of 2025.

“We understand the difficulty that is faced some people who can’t drive because they use medicinally prescribed cannabis products that contain THC, she said.

“It is important, though, that we balance support for people who are benefiting from this medicinally prescribed cannabis and community road safety,” she said.

In a budget estimates inquiry before the summit, the Premier said it was an area of the law that “need[ed] to be looked at” but raised concern there was currently no test for impairment.

This push for reform comes in the wake of a recent inquiry from the Legislative Council into the impacts of the regulatory framework for cannabis, which found current criminal regulation of cannabis is failing to reduce use, criminalising users, and forcing them to access cannabis through illicit markets fuelling organised crime.

The report also recommended the state government develop and expand the domestic medicinal cannabis sector, remove the potential of custodial sentences for adults found in possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use, and review the impact of decriminalisation in the hopes of creating a safe, regulated, and accessible statewide market for legal cannabis.

“We shouldn’t have a situation where people are being forced between choosing to take their prescription or working, or between taking their prescription and going to visit a loved one,” said Greenwich.

“Under proposed models, NSW Police will continue to have the ability to charge people who are driving impaired, but if you’re not impaired and THC is just lingering in your system – you shouldn’t have to end up in court or have your license suspended.”