Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2023

The Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 introduces a number of amendments across Victoria’s transport framework. The most heavily publicised provision is the introduction of a closed-track trial to investigate how medicinal cannabis users can drive safely. The intersection of medicinal cannabis and road safety has been a topical issue in the Victorian Parliament for several years. 
 
Victoria currently employs a ‘zero tolerance’ legislative approach towards tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—the main psychoactive component of cannabis—in drivers, but there have been a number of calls for change from politicians, patients and advocates. 
 
This Bill Brief examines the amendments relating specifically to the road safety trial. The paper also provides an outline of some of the key issues relating to medicinal cannabis and road safety, together with a jurisdictional comparison of some of the different approaches to policing the presence of THC.