ABC News report
The West Australian government looks set to make it easier for more doctors to prescribe medicinal cannabis but has stopped short of supporting calls for changes to drug-driving laws.
Key points:
- The WA government has supported the bulk of the recommendations made after an inquiry into medicinal cannabis regulations
- The government has noted that other states have reformed driving laws
- Advocates say the zero-tolerance approach from some mining companies is hurting FIFO workers
In March a parliamentary report into medicinal cannabis issues in WA made 16 recommendations, including changing laws to provide a defence for medicinal cannabis use, provided the driver was not impaired.
The official response was tabled in parliament on Tuesday and supported 11 of the 16 recommendations, but only “noted” the push for drug-driving reform.
Instead, the government will establish a working group to consider reasonable amendments to the road traffic act.
A state government spokeswoman said the working group would avoid any knee-jerk changes to driving laws.
“We want to be very clear that this government would never support any amendment which would allow a person to drive while impaired,” she said.
“It is the government’s strongly held position that nobody should be driving impaired.
“However, other Australian jurisdictions are progressing amendments to enable a defence for people using medicinal cannabis, as prescribed, to drive while unimpaired and Tasmania already has these provisions in place.”
Medicinal cannabis advocates have long stressed that the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a person’s bloodstream does not necessarily mean the person is impaired, but there has been debate as to how to determine whether someone is impaired.
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