Cannabis driving limit to give 'freedom' to medicinal users in NSW

The new laws will maintain strong road safety protections. (ABC North Coast: Gemma Sapwell )

Drivers who are prescribed medicinal cannabis and test positive for THC below the maximum threshold will not face charges, under legal changes proposed by the NSW government.

Patients are required to register their prescription with Transport for NSW and complete a driver training course.

The reform comes more than a year after the 2024 Drug Summit recommended a medical defence for drivers using prescribed cannabis.

Drivers using medicinal cannabis who test positive for a tiny amount of its active ingredient would avoid drug driving charges under a New South Wales government proposal.

The Labor government plans to introduce a legal limit on the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, a driver can have in their system if they have a prescription.

While it will remain an offence for most drivers to have any trace of THC in their system, medicinal cannabis patients would be exempt if a laboratory test found their saliva had fewer than 50 nanograms per millilitre of THC.

If the laboratory result shows THC below the maximum threshold there will be no charge or further action. (Supplied: ACT Policing)

But unlike the testing regime for alcohol, drivers caught with the presence of the drug on a tongue swab would face an immediate 24-hour driving ban, even if the subsequent sample turned out to be below the legal limit.

"For the people at the roadside, very little will change," Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison told the ABC.

Ms Aitchison says little will change for drivers on the roadside. (ABC Newcastle: Romy Stephens)

A warning system would be implemented so that medicinal cannabis patients who return a lab result over the 50 ng/mL limit would get two "strikes" before they are charged with an offence.

The government said the policy would enable drivers to adjust their dose accordingly, with the two warnings to reset every two years.

A medicinal cannabis patient caught over the THC limit for a third time would face the usual penalties for drug driving: a $704 fine and a minimum three-month licence suspension for the first offence.

Ms Aitchison said the new testing regime would generally pick up THC for only "a couple of hours" after the medication was taken.

"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," she said.

Patients would be required to register their prescription with Transport for NSW and complete training on