Minns Government To Support Driving Reforms For Medical Cannabis Patients

The NSW government will back reforms that allow driving exemptions for medical cannabis patients, with Premier Chris Minns telling budget estimates on Thursday his government would be investigating new roadside drug testing rules for those impacted.

In November, Independent MP Alex Greenwich introduced legislation that would allow drivers who return a positive cannabis test to have the offence overturned in court on medical grounds.

Earlier in the year, Greenwich disclosed his own cannabis prescription and penned a joint letter with other MPs calling on the Premier to introduce exemptions for medical cannabis users from the offence of driving with the presence of the drug in their system.

Currently, drivers with detectable levels of THC in their saliva, blood, or urine are committing an offence under NSW’s Road and Transport Act, despite the fact THC can last for days, or sometimes weeks, in the body.

The support comes after years of opposition from Minns, with Greenwich today saying the legislation will make driving laws fairer for people who have been forced to choose between taking their medicine or driving.

“This is going to be a great change for the thousands of people who have been prescribed medicinal cannabis, and have been unfairly punished for using a lawfully prescribed medicine,” he said.

“Now we can continue to support people’s health and wellbeing without the risk of them being taken off the road, due to small traces of the medication lingering in their system up to months after they have taken the medicine- which has no impact on their ability to drive.

“As someone prescribed medicinal cannabis for anxiety and insomnia, I share this relief with the thousands of patients living in New South Wales who have reported having a script for medicinal cannabis.”

Proof current laws not fit for purpose, says MP

The legislation has been co-signed by Legalise Cannabis’ Jeremy Buckingham, who has been advocating for similar reforms for years.

“Today’s comments by NSW Premier Chris Minns is an acknowledgement the state’s medicinal cannabis driving laws are not fit for purpose and that legislated reform is needed,” he said.

“We stand ready to work towards new laws that protect road safety and ensure the hundreds of thousands of people who use medicinal cannabis are not discriminated against.”

A legislated medical defence for drivers using medically prescribed cannabis was one of the recommendations to come out of the state’s drug summit in 2024, although it was one of six recommendations the government chose not to adopt when they responded in October. Police Minister Yasmin Catley told the ABC at the time that the matter was “extremely complex”.

In June, an inquiry from the Legislative Council into the impacts of the regulatory framework for cannabis 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.