Use of medicinal cannabis in Australia is one the rise - with almost 300 thousand prescriptions given over the last 2 years. But right now there's no valid impairment test available and that's proving problematic for people who need to work while using medicinal cannabis.
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00:00 It's, to say the least, confused. The situation is that each employer has different rules
00:08 and regulations about whether or not people can use medicinal cannabis at work. And obviously
00:15 some of those things will depend on whether you're an airline pilot or whether you're
00:19 a clerk or whether you're in retail. But nevertheless, the different workplaces have different rules.
00:25 And so it's pretty confusing for business and of course for medicinal cannabis consumers.
00:29 Yeah, really confusing indeed. What is the sort of cases that are coming up with this
00:35 being a confusing situation? I mean, is it when people are falling foul of whatever their
00:39 workplace rules and regulations might be? Is it unfair dismissal? Is it discrimination?
00:44 Is it OH&S?
00:45 Look, it can be all of those things. And that's why there's a need for inquiry and law reform
00:54 in this area. Of course, the widespread nature of it is only going to grow. According to
01:01 Sydney University, about 3% of the entire Australian population use medicinal cannabis.
01:07 So if you're looking at actual workers in workplaces, we're probably up to about one
01:11 in 20. That is only growing every year. So it really is a very confusing picture. One
01:19 thing that's really clear is that people can't drive. It's illegal to drive with any detectable
01:26 level of THC in your system. And so that cuts a lot of people out, whether it means driving
01:34 to and from work or driving at their work in terms of the legality of their position.
01:39 So if you're a medicinal cannabis user and your job involves driving, things are very
01:45 tricky for both employers and employees. And that makes life difficult. And the other thing,
01:51 of course, is that most workplace testing is still urine based, which means that it
01:56 can be detected for up to 30 days. So we're looking at people who might use medicinal
02:03 cannabis every day, typically, and yet they are going to be unable to pass any test for
02:09 30 days.
02:10 It really brings up the idea and the tussle between impairment and consumption, doesn't
02:16 it? Because whilst it might be in your system, whether it be THC or CBD, you might not be
02:21 impaired. Do you think that's where the inquiry and the reform needs to look at when it comes
02:27 to the legal framework?
02:30 I think actually impairment is probably asking the wrong question. The right question is
02:36 why should cannabis be treated any differently than any other prescription drug? Because
02:42 if you ask that question, then the answer is you should use as your doctor directs.
02:49 This is really just a hangover because cannabis was once completely illegal and illicit, and
02:54 it's now changed status and employment law and driving law and criminal law just hasn't
03:00 really caught up. So what we're dealing with is a one off. It is only THC or cannabis that
03:08 is treated in this way in terms of driving and employment that there is a zero tolerance
03:13 level in the sense that cannabis is now prescribable and is obviously to the tune of 300,000 prescriptions
03:20 being widely prescribed.
03:22 Do you get the sense, finally, David, that there will be political appetite to make changes
03:27 given the percentages of workers who are taking medicinal cannabis are as real and high as
03:33 they are?
03:34 I'm sure that the pressure will just keep increasing, especially given that people don't
03:41 want to lose good employees and good employees might have anxiety or chronic pain and be
03:46 finding cannabis as their best medicine. Employees don't want to lose their job and employees
03:52 don't want to lose good workers. So I think the political pressure will increase immensely
03:56 over the next 12 to 18 months.
03:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]