Stock photo of a man smoking marijuana in a vehicle driving a car under the influence of cannabis.
Medical cannabis patients in the Australian state of Victoria may soon have the opportunity to participate in a cannabis trial to evaluate their ability to drive without impairment.
The state’s government introduced legislation into Parliament this week to develop and implement a cannabis trial to assess the effects of consumption of medical cannabis on driving behavior.
It’s essential for legislators to understand the potential consequences of using THC while driving, as impaired driving could pose additional obstacles to the daily life of medical patients.
Therefore, the Transport Legislation Amendment Bill of 2023 aims to alter the current situation, allowing medical cannabis patients to take part in this supervised closed-circuit trial under state government oversight.
“This bill will allow us to deliver a world-leading research trial into medicinal cannabis and driving, enhancing our understanding of how medicinal cannabis affects driving behavior and informing future reform,” Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne said in a press statement.
The forthcoming trial will be managed by an independent research organization, which is yet to be selected. Oversight and direction for the trial will be established through collaboration with the Department of Transport and Planning, road safety partners, as well as experts and healthcare professionals.
The trial will be set up in a safe driving area separate from public roads. This ensures that everyone involved, including the participants and research staff, will be safe.
For a legal research trial to study how medical cannabis affects driving skills, participants may need to demonstrate behaviors that could be considered offenses under the Road Safety Act of 1986.
In 2016, Victoria became the first Australian state to legalize medical cannabis. However, driving with any amount of THC in the body system is still against the law in the state, and it remains an offense.
But medical cannabis has now become more commonly used by people in Victoria with specific health conditions who believe they can drive safely without impairment. In the past two years, the number of patients prescribed medical cannabis in Victoria has risen by over 700%, according to the press release of the proposed legislation.
The Legalise Cannabis party has been pushing for more substantial legal changes, according to the Australian publication Purple Sneakers. They suggest that it should not be considered a crime for a driver who is not impaired to have detectable THC in their blood or oral fluid, as long as they have a prescription and use their medication as prescribed.
The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) also suggests a temporary halt to related prosecutions, as reported by Hemp Gazzette. They propose that during this trial period, individuals who drive after taking prescribed medical cannabis and show no signs of impaired driving should not be subject to prosecution.
In most Australian states, it’s against the law for a person to drive a motor vehicle with any level of THC in their body system, even if THC is consumed with a medically prescribed cannabis product. However, Tasmania is an exception, as it has adapted to the changing landscape. In Tasmania, in fact, driving with any trace of THC is still considered an offense, but there are exceptions. It’s allowed if the product was acquired and used following the Poisons Act of 1971 regulations and the person is fully capable of controlling a vehicle.
The existing scientific research regarding the impact of THC on driving safety is not yet sufficient to define a safe THC level for patients to drive.
But, with the growing legal availability of cannabis, this becomes a critical concern for road safety.
However, there are significant gaps in our understanding of how THC might affect the driving abilities of various driver groups and the relationship between THC levels from medical cannabis and the associated road safety risks. This information is essential for potential regulatory changes.
That’s why Victoria’s trial holds a key role in addressing this issue, specifically in determining a safe THC threshold for driving.
In the last few years, many medical cannabis users in Victoria have expressed worries about the possibility of losing their driver’s license or facing fines, and the Victoria Parliament started to address these concerns in 2021.