Скачать или смотреть Why we need equal driving rights for legal medicinal cannabis patients | Drive Change

Medicinal cannabis is legal in Australia. But, it is the only prescribed medication without a legal defence against positive roadside mouth swab tests for presence, making our current drug driving laws discriminatory against medicinal cannabis patients.

Of the 65,000+ patients across Australia, the average age is 49 years old. The average medicinal cannabis patients in Victoria are women aged 55 years old. These people are our family, our friends, and our co-workers. They are parents who need to pick up the kids after school or get across town to do their jobs. While these discriminatory laws remain in place, they can’t.

Let’s be clear: we want our roads to be safe. Any driver who is impaired is a safety risk to themselves and others. But the truth is, impairment from medicinal cannabis cannot be tested from a mouth swab.

Research shows that the effects of cannabis last as little as two and up to eight hours from consumption, but it can still be detected in tests up to a week later. This is long beyond the time of impairment.

We are calling for a legal defence for drivers who test positive for the presence of legally prescribed medicinal cannabis when:

1. The driver has a valid doctor’s prescription for a medicine containing THC;
2. The offence does not involve dangerous or reckless driving; and
3. An officer cannot establish driver impairment.

To learn more or to sign the petition, please visit https://change.org/drivechangemc