by Sahar Foladi
Former Greater Dandenong mayor Roz Blades says a State reform for drivers using medicinal cannabis is a “step in the right direction”.
Under the new laws, Victorian magistrates will be allowed sentencing discretion when medicinal cannabis script-holders test positive for cannabinoid chemical THC (Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) but are unimpaired while driving.
The Legalise Cannabis Victoria party-led amendment comes come into effect from 1 March 2025.
Prior to this, people who use medicinal cannabis to manage cancer treatment, multiple sclerosis and other medical conditions, would lose their licence automatically if found behind the wheel with THC in their system.
This would force them to either drive in pain or give up driving altogether.
Former Greater Dandenong mayor and long-term ex-councillor Roz Blades is in her fourth year of using medicinal cannabis oil, cannabidiol (CBD) to manage her intense chronic pain of more than 50 years.
She recognises that this amendment doesn’t mean they “can’t” cancel your licence but says “it’s a step in the right direction.”
“Magistrates ‘can’, not ‘will’, allow you to have your licence. I think it’s an improvement, a bit of an adjustment, but it still needs work.
“You have still got to go to court, they can still hand down a sentence.
“What is in here that I want in here is the medical knowledge. It’s not complete. It only allows them sentencing discretion – it needs more. You still have to prove it (that you need medicinal cannabis as part of treatment).”
The whole process allows a gateway for those on medicinal cannabis to be heard in court and according to Blades, “that means there’s a lot more knowledge.”
She has nominated herself to be part of the State Government’s $4.9 million “world’s-first” medicinal cannabis driving trial to be conducted by Swinburne University of Technology over 18-months.
The trail will assess prescribed medicinal cannabis effects on people behind the wheel.
“It’s a positive impact because it’ll mean people will be more confident, they’ll take it now, they wouldn’t have taken it before.
“I know people who won’t take it because they’re worried about their licence. This discretion now gives them a choice where that wasn’t there before – you were just going to lose your licence.”
According to a National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) report, an increasing amount of people are accessing medicinal cannabis with a prescription,.
In 2022–2023, three per cent of people in Australia had used cannabis for medical purposes in the previous 12 months, equating to around 700,000 people, according to the report.
Legalise Cannabis MP David Ettershank says before this amendment, drivers would’ve faced not just a loss of licence for six months but also a “steep fine” just for taking their medicine as “directed by their doctor.”
“This change means a current prescription holder, who is unimpaired and has taken their medication as directed, can appear before a magistrate, explain their circumstance and the magistrate can allow them to keep their licence.
“The presence of THC in the system remains an offence, the only change is that magistrates will be given this discretionary power.”
