Greens ready to fix unfair laws that punish medicinal cannabis patients
With NSW Premier Chris Minns finally confirming unfair laws that punish medicinal cannabis patients are being reviewed, Greens MP Cate Faehrmann - who already has a Bill in the NSW Upper House - has confirmed the Greens will work constructively to get this right.
Under current laws, drivers can lose their licence for testing positive for trace amounts of THC in a roadside drug test, even if the drug was legally prescribed, used days earlier and there is no impairment whatsoever.
In 2021, the NSW Upper House inquired into Ms Faehrmann’s Road Transport Amendment (Medicinal Cannabis - Exemption from Offences) Bill 2021, which ultimately failed to pass.
Greens MP and drug law reform spokesperson Cate Faehrmann said:
“People have been managing chronic pain, cancer treatment, PTSD and other serious conditions legally with medicinal cannabis since 2016, but our driving laws haven’t kept up.
“For years I’ve been hearing from medicinal cannabis patients who are faced with an impossible choice between accessing life changing medication or risk losing the ability to drive to work or drop their kids to school.
“People who lack access to reliable public transport, particularly regional areas, are especially impacted, while areas like northern NSW and Sydney’s western suburbs are targeted more than Sydney’s wealthy northern suburbs.
“I already have a Bill before parliament. The Greens are ready to use our numbers in the Upper House to pass sensible laws that will end the discriminatory roadside drug testing regime and maintain strong road safety protections.”