Let’s get this done đź‘Źđź‘Źđź‘Ź
More from Michael Berkman – Greens MP for Maiwar:
I just flagged my intention to move these amendments in Parliament.
Queensland has had a medicinal cannabis framework since 2016 and 51% of all Australian medicinal cannabis prescriptions are made in Queensland, but our laws still haven’t been updated.
The Qld Government recently announced it will review drug driving laws, and today Parliament is amending the relevant Act. We should fix the law now so patients aren’t criminalised just for the presence of THC (which can show up weeks after use), while we consider how to measure impairment.
Our current law puts THC in the same category as MDMA and Ice, despite the fact that it is legally prescribed, and patients can test positive for presence days or even weeks after use, when they’re not impaired.
#medicinalcannabis patients shouldn’t be subjected to these unfair and outdated laws any longer. Queenslanders undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from chronic pain should not lose their ability to drive just because they used their prescribed medication days or weeks ago.
The only function of the law as it currently stands is to reinforce the total prohibition of cannabis – it’s out of date, discriminatory and provides no safety benefit.
Under our amendments, it would still be illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol or any drug, including cannabis, but patients would no longer be criminalised just for having THC in their system.
Thank you Drive Change for your ongoing advocacy on this issue, and Greens MPs like Cate Faehrmann for working on change in other jurisdictions!
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