NSW sets legal THC limit for medicinal cannabis drivers

Drivers in New South Wales, Australia, who use medicinal cannabis and have a prescription will soon be able to avoid drug-driving charges if they test positive for a small amount of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

The Labor government plans to establish a legal limit for THC concentration in the bloodstream for individuals with a prescription. While it will remain an offense for most drivers to have any trace of THC, medicinal cannabis patients will be exempt if laboratory tests show their saliva contains fewer than 50 nanograms per milliliter of THC. If the result is below this threshold, no charges or further action will be taken.

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For the people at the roadside, very little will change.

However, unlike alcohol testing, drivers stopped at the roadside who test positive on a tongue swab will still face an immediate 24-hour driving ban, even if a subsequent lab test confirms they are below the legal limit. Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison, noted that for roadside testing, "very little will change."

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What we're doing is walking that delicate line between ensuring we maintain road safety but also that we enable people who have a prescribed medication to be able to drive.

A warning system will be implemented for medicinal cannabis patients. Those who exceed the 50 ng/mL limit will receive two "strikes" before facing charges. These warnings will reset every two years. A third offense over the THC limit will result in standard drug-driving penalties, including a $704 fine and a minimum three-month license suspension for the first offense. Aitchison explained that the new regime typically detects THC for only a few hours after medication is taken, suggesting that patients using it the night before are unlikely to be detected at these levels the next day.

Patients will be required to register their prescription with Transport for NSW and complete training on how cannabis affects driving. "What we're doing is walking that delicate line between ensuring we maintain road safety but also that we enable people who have a prescribed medication to be able to drive," Aitchison said. This reform follows a recommendation from the 2024 Drug Summit to create a medical defense for drivers using prescribed cannabis.

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Someone who maybe takes it the night before for some medication, say they get anxiety and they drive the next day, they generally would not even be detected on these levels.