Every year hundreds of thousands of Australians take medicinal cannabis to treat chronic pain and other conditions, but with the benefits there's a major drawback.
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00:00 Every day, West Australian man John, who can't reveal his real name, takes cannabis.
00:08 It relieves his fibromyalgia, a condition which causes chronic fatigue and pain.
00:13 It's just been revolutionary.
00:15 My main problem has been fatigue and just the inability to get moving, and it helps
00:21 with that.
00:22 So it's just wonderful.
00:23 Medicinal cannabis has been legal since 2016.
00:26 But under WA law, you cannot drive with the intoxicating element of cannabis, THC, in
00:32 your system.
00:33 It's a law John chooses to ignore.
00:37 He believes he isn't putting anyone at risk.
00:39 He says he doesn't feel impaired when driving.
00:42 I'm an experienced driver.
00:44 You know, I'm also experienced with cannabis.
00:47 When you have a tolerance like I do, it's not as strong.
00:51 A new Swinburne University study appears to support his claim.
00:56 Researchers used a car simulator to test the driving ability of 40 patients who took a
01:00 dose.
01:01 Our main finding was remarkably little change in driving performance before and after people
01:08 had taken their medical cannabis.
01:10 Dr. Arkell says cannabis should be treated like other medications.
01:15 We don't treat any other prescription medication in the same way, where you can be pulled over
01:20 and it can be an offence to simply have that drug in your system.
01:24 The legalised cannabis party says patients should be allowed to drive.
01:28 We've enshrined in law a lie, a lie which states that any presence of detectable THC
01:34 is equivalent to impairment.
01:35 I wish you'd be able to drive without fear of being prosecuted for it, just because I'm
01:40 on medicine that I need is really good for my wellbeing, my functioning.
01:45 The health department says the research needs to be carefully assessed, but patients should
01:49 not drive while on cannabis.
01:51 Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the state government says the health minister is consulting with
01:56 experts on whether the law should be changed.
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]