Medicinal cannabis patients in NSW will no longer automatically face penalties simply because THC is detected in their system while driving, after long-awaited reforms passed State Parliament.
The Road Transport Amendment (Medical Cannabis and Driving Offences) Bill 2026 establishes a separate system for eligible patients who have a legal prescription and are not impaired while behind the wheel.
To qualify, patients will need to hold an unrestricted NSW licence, register with Transport for NSW, provide evidence of a current prescription and complete an online cannabis and driving safety program.
Learner and provisional licence holders and commercial drivers will not be eligible.
Roadside drug testing will continue unchanged and anyone who tests positive to THC will still receive an immediate 24-hour driving ban while their sample undergoes laboratory testing.
But where a registered patient records less than 50 nanograms of THC per millilitre, no further action will be taken.
A first or second result at or above that threshold within two years will result in a warning, while a third will attract a $722 fine and minimum three-month licence suspension.
Drivers who are impaired, or who have alcohol or other drugs in their system, will remain subject to existing penalties.
The Echo has followed calls for reform over several years, including concerns that medicinal cannabis patients could lose their licences despite taking the drug legally and no longer being impaired.
In March, Greens drug harm reduction spokesperson Cate Faehrmann said the laws had failed to keep pace with medicinal cannabis, particularly affecting people in regional areas who rely heavily on driving.
When the government announced its reform package in June it estimated more than 300,000 NSW residents had medicinal cannabis prescriptions.
Medicinal cannabis provider Alternaleaf described the passage of the legislation as ‘a significant milestone for medicinal cannabis patients across the state’.
The company told patients the reforms meant they would not face automatic disqualification solely because THC was detected below the legislated limit, provided they met the eligibility requirements and were not impaired.
Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said the government was seeking to balance patients’ use of legally prescribed medication with road safety.
‘We cannot be any clearer: nobody should drive while impaired by cannabis, alcohol or any other drug,’ Ms Aitchison said.
The new system will not begin immediately.
Transport for NSW is developing the registration system and mandatory education program, with implementation expected between late 2026 and early 2027.
The scheme will be reviewed after its first year.
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