Prescribed medicinal cannabis? Know exactly where you stand before you drive.

Your state in one paragraph

New South Wales: Driving with any detectable THC remains an offence under section 111 of the Road Transport Act 2013, and a valid prescription is currently no defence. The Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Medical Cannabis and Driving Offences) Bill 2026 passed both houses of NSW Parliament on 17 September 2026 and received the Governor's assent on 23 September 2026 (Act No 33 of 2026, gazetted 25 September) — but it is not yet in force: Transport for NSW says systems are being updated and the registration scheme is anticipated to commence in late 2026 or early 2027. Read more →

Victoria: It is an offence in Victoria to drive with any amount of THC in your system, including from prescribed medicinal cannabis, and a valid prescription is not a defence to the charge itself. However, from 1 March 2025, section 50(1F) of the Road Safety Act 1986 (inserted by the Roads and Road Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2024) gives magistrates discretion not to cancel the licence of a driver who tests positive for THC where the matter relates to a legal medicinal cannabis product used in accordance with a current prescription. The discretion applies to matters heard from 1 March 2025 even where the offence occurred earlier. The driver remains guilty of the offence and the fine stands. A closed-track driving trial (began September 2024, ~70 participants) was due to report in mid-2026; no results had been published as at 26 September 2026. Read more →

Queensland: Queensland penalises driving with detectable THC regardless of prescription, under two separate offences in the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 s79: (1) driving with a relevant drug present in saliva or blood, and (2) the more serious offence of driving under the influence, charged where a driver appears adversely affected. From 1 December 2026 the presence-offence penalties double — maximum fine to 28 penalty units (about $4,836), minimum disqualification to at least 2 months for a first offence — under the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2026, passed 17 September 2026. A review examining drug-driving laws and medicinal cannabis has been handed to the government, which confirmed in June 2026 it is 'carefully considering recommendations' — but no patient defence has passed as of the research date. Read more →

Western Australia: Under section 64AC of the Road Traffic Act 1974 (WA), driving with a prescribed drug (including THC) in blood or oral fluid is an offence regardless of a valid prescription. A separate, more serious impaired-driving offence exists under s64AB. Random roadside drug testing has operated since 2007. A WA medicinal cannabis and safe driving working group has been considering evidence and potential reform, but no change has passed as of the research date. Read more →

South Australia: SA's official driver guidance states police conduct random roadside saliva tests for THC, methylamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA, and — unlike drink driving's concentration thresholds — the presence of any amount of these drugs is an offence. Refusing or failing to comply with drug testing is itself an offence, can mean immediate loss of licence at the roadside, and carries disqualification of at least 12 months on conviction. A parliamentary committee has recommended amending the Road Traffic Act so unimpaired prescribed patients would not commit an offence, but this is a recommendation only — not passed law. Read more →

Tasmania: Tasmania is the only Australian jurisdiction with a statutory defence: under s6A(2) of the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970, a person does not commit the presence offence if the prescribed illicit drug was obtained and administered in accordance with the Poisons Act 1971. Courts apply this strictly — it requires a prescription issued by a Tasmania-based, authorised (s59E) prescriber and dispensed by a Tasmanian pharmacy, used as directed (Smith v Marshall [2024] TASMC 12). Mainland telehealth prescriptions do not qualify. Driving while impaired remains illegal. Read more →

Australian Capital Territory: In the ACT it remains an offence to drive with cannabis in your system even if prescribed, and a medical prescription cannot be used as a defence, per the ACT Government's response to a recent reform petition. Read more →

Northern Territory: Medicinal cannabis can be prescribed in the NT, but THC remains a strictly prohibited drug: driving with any detectable THC is an offence regardless of prescription, and the Traffic Act's section 29 defence does not extend to THC. The Traffic Legislation Amendment (Drink and Drug Driving and Hooning) Bill 2026 passed the Legislative Assembly on 13 October 2026 — passive breath screening, a combined drink-and-drug offence, impoundment and hooning tiers — but it contains nothing for medicinal cannabis patients; the Legislative Scrutiny Committee has recommended the Government give the presence-based-offence question further consideration. Read more →