Driving laws leave medical cannabis users in catch-22
Deep sea diver Sandy can operate machinery at the bottom of the ocean but the law says she can't drive a car on our roads.
Sandy is one of more than 700,000 Australians using cannabis for medical reasons.
It's legal and prescribed but that hasn't stopped the courts taking away her licence.
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Deep sea diver Sandy can operate machinery at the bottom of the ocean, but the law says she can't drive a car on our roads. Nine
Former NSW magistrate David Heilpern turned his back on the profession, believing our drug driving laws need a reality check.
"I found myself driving home after court with a really bad taste in my mouth thinking, I just can't keep doing this," he said.
"I can't apply law that is so unfair that has such a drastic influence, negative influence, on people's lives when they lose their licence."
More than 700,000 Australians using cannabis for medical reasons - meaning they risk losing their right to drive. Nine
Heilpern said Aussies using medically prescribed cannabis are tasked with a dangerous dilemma.
"Do they keep using the medication that works and risk losing their licence and a greater time off the road?" he asked.
"Or do they stop using the medication that works and go back to a more harmful, more side effect and more dangerous drug, like an opioid?"
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