In Queensland, one of the most ridiculous oversights with the law and medicinal cannabis patients may soon be a thing of the past, but we need your help to make it happen!
Medicinal cannabis has been legal for a while now, but in Queensland, medicinal patients are still treated like criminals when it comes to driving. Current laws from the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 around roadside drug testing (RDT) still criminalise the presence of any THC in the system of drivers.
Considering THC stay in your system for weeks after you’ve last used cannabis and are well sober, this obviously leaves medicinal patients stuck between a rock and a hard place. They’re forced to choose between their mobility and independence (driving) and taking their prescribed medication. No other prescription medication is subject to these laws.
But in some good news, these laws are up for review. If you live in Queensland and want to have your say on reforming these laws for the benefit of the community, you just need to do two simple things.
Firstly, sign the petition here on the QLD Parliament website to let the government know that the laws need to change. Secondly, if you have the time to spare, have your say by submitting your thoughts through the QLD Government survey here. The petition closes on the 26th of December and the survey closes on the 17th, so get in quick!
So far, the only state in Australia that has seen the light, and only penalises medicinal patients when they are clearly driving under the influence is Tasmania. The real kicker here is that fifteen years of roadside drug testing hasn’t reduced the road toll. Speeding remains the biggest killer on Queensland roads, followed by drink driving.
Not only that, a 2023 study in the United States concluded there’s no correlation between minute quantities of THC present in blood/oral fluid/breath and driving performance. This is consistent with numerous other studies that found the detection of traces of THC isn’t predictive of driving impairment.
A 2021 study by a PhD student at the University of Sydney revealed that common drug testing devices were unreliable, consistently returning up to 10% false positives and 9% false negatives as well.
The laws here clearly need to change and this is only possible if we all have our say. So don’t delay, sign the petition today!
Author: Quintin
Combining his lifelong love of journalism and marijuana, notorious local menace Quintin Low is passionate about shining a light on the stories that grow from the industry and culture.
