Yahoo News Australia recently reported on calls from campaigners, who have long advocated for change, against proposed law changes as the Queensland Government doubles down on RDT. Despite similar reforms in other states, Queensland refuses to budge.
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Queensland is “doubling down” on motorists using medicinal cannabis with renewed calls for the State to get in line with “the rest of the world”. Jacki Verne, a medicinal cannabis user, said the State's tough stance could leave thousands at risk of losing everything, including their licence. In June, Queensland’s LNP Government announced harsher penalties for drug, drink and dangerous drivers, including for medical cannabis users. In Queensland, it's illegal to drive if you’re being treated with medical cannabis, even with a valid prescription.
But for people like Jacki, of whom there are thousands, the rule could have a tremendous impact on the livelihood of patients utilising the ’drug’ for medical purposes. “If I were pulled over right now, I would get done. It’s as simple as that”, she told Yahoo News Australia this week. “If we wanted to talk about the impact that has on me, I live in regional Queensland, my job is a 40-minute drive away, so I wouldn’t be able to get to work. I would also have limited access to family and that would have a huge, huge impact on my life”.
Jacki, a member of the Legalise Cannabis Queensland (LCQ) Party, has been using THC products since 2021. Prescribed gummies are hugely beneficial and help address her mental health and sleep concerns, she said. “The impact that it has had on my ability to be able to sleep all night, I can’t underestimate. It’s been amazing”, she said. In the morning, after using it at night, she said she feels “a million times better”, but every single day she risks “losing everything”.
She and the LCQ Party are calling for a “full reform of the drug-driving laws“ which include impairment testing. “Someone can use their legally prescribed medicinal cannabis before bed, get up the next morning, go to work, do a full day’s work without any issues... then lose their licence on the drive home“, she continued. She said the biggest misconception is that those who test positive on a roadside ’drug’ test must be impaired.
“That's the reality under Queensland’s current laws. A roadside test detects THC. It doesn’t measure impairment“, she added. “If we’re serious about road safety, shouldn’t the law be based on whether someone is actually impaired instead of simply detecting THC?“
Jacki Verne, Legalise Cannabis Queensland Party
Last month, Attorney General Deb Frecklington said Queensland has taken a “zero tolerance to drugs and drug driving“. The renewed legislation includes increasing the maximum penalties for motor vehicle offences where death or grievous bodily harm occurs from 16 to 25 years’ imprisonment. Minimum licence disqualification periods will also be increased and mandatory imprisonment for serious and repeat dangerous driving offenders will be expanded to ensure more are sent to jail.
In June this year, the NSW Labour Government announced it would seek to introduce reforms to parliament that seek “a more common sense approach“ to medically-prescribed cannabis and road laws. Under the reforms, registered medicinal cannabis users will still be subjected to a roadside ’drug’ test and an immediate 24-hour driving ban will apply if the sample tests positive.
However, if laboratory test results show THC below the maximum threshold, the driver will not be charged, nor any further action taken under the changes. “I'm really glad to see that New South Wales, at the very least, is having this conversation and working towards making a fairer system“, Jacki said.
“Queensland, on the other hand, has gone in totally the opposite direction, and it’s doubling down on the fines, and how long you lose your licence for“. She said she “doesn’t understand“ why the State refuses to budge. Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington recently blasted the NSW reforms. “If anyone has a medical reason for taking a ’drug’, that is horrific for them that they have to do that, but at the end of the day, they shouldn’t be driving a motor vehicle. We are taking a tough approach“.
Jackie said, “The whole thing needs to be re-examined, and it needs to be evidence-based, and that’s all we’re asking for. Queensland is definitely going backwards compared to the rest of the world. The rest of the world, the rest of Australia, is moving forward“.
11 August, 2026