5/06/2026

Lawyers have welcomed the NSW Government’s plan to reform drug driving laws for medicinal cannabis patients but cautioned that a proposed government register is unnecessary and raises serious privacy concerns.

“This is a positive and overdue step forward, but the details will matter. We are concerned about the proposal for mandatory registration and the privacy implications of creating a government list of medicinal cannabis patients,” said Greg Barns SC, criminal justice spokesperson, Australian Lawyers Alliance.

“Drivers who take opioids or other prescription medications do not need to register to drive or have their details kept on a government list. Medicinal cannabis patients who are taking a prescribed and legal dose should not be treated differently.

“However, we are pleased to see progress on this issue in NSW. People have been losing their licences, and in some cases their jobs, not because they were impaired, but because of outdated laws that failed to recognise medicinal cannabis as a legitimate prescribed medication.

“These laws urgently need to change to stay relevant. Current drug driving laws were developed before medicinal cannabis became legally recognised and prescribed, and they have not kept pace with that change.

“The failure to exempt medicinal cannabis patients from drug driving rules reflects the historical treatment of cannabis as a prohibited drug, rather than its current status as a lawful prescribed medicine.

“Alcohol testing is based on science and impairment risk, including epidemiological studies developed over many years. Drug driving laws should also be evidence-based and focused on impairment, not simply the presence of a legally prescribed medicine.”