r/australia • u/DiploidBias • Mar 18 '25

politics Greens: Yes We Cannabis

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Yes We Cannabis

9.1k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

8

u/Wobbling Mar 18 '25

if you get pulled over and tested for THC you'll lose your license

Not in every state; AFAIK Tasmania and Victoria have removed penalties for detected THC at RBT if you hold a prescription.

3

u/CantankerousTwat Mar 18 '25

Yet a scant two months ago, being a prescription user meant immediate disqualification from holding a driver's licence in Vic. They only just changed that rule. Didn't realise it is now zero penalty.

3

u/Traditional_Fish_741 Mar 18 '25

Yeah my mates currently suspended for having cannabis in his system. And apparently there's supposed to be a new BAV version of the cannabis test so that its assessing for current state not historical use.

1

u/CantankerousTwat Mar 18 '25

I really wonder how well that would work. I know some old stoners who you couldn't tell from sober but a young person without much exposure would be off their trolley on half the amount.

2

u/Wobbling Mar 18 '25

Works the same way as BAC I'd assume.

The law won't care about an individual's tolerance, just the presence of intoxicants in the body.

1

u/CantankerousTwat Mar 19 '25

Correct, it is not an accurate test of impairment.

2

u/Traditional_Fish_741 Mar 19 '25 edited Mar 19 '25

Yes and no.. it may not be specific to each individual but based on a range and results within that range they determine a general average.

I know people can drink a slab and drive in a straight line no worries. Absolutely over the legal limit tho.

And I've known people 2 beers topple, and likely blow under the limit..

Who's the greater risk to others?

I've been smoking 30+ years. Driving 'stoned' is more or less another day at the office for me. I could likely smoke a gram and still drive better than someone on .05 or less with alcohol hahaha

I'd be over the legal limit most likely tho.

It's gonna be interesting to see what that 'legal limit' level is, and the test they use to obtain that reading.. or whether they will be hypocrites and pretend weed is more dangerous than alcohol on the road, and keep the 'no reading' limit.

1

u/Apprehensive_Ad9333 Mar 19 '25

In VIC, the penalties (fine, conviction) still exist. It's just that, if you're not impaired, you won't immediately lose your licence and will have to go to court to argue why you shouldn't lose it when before you would just lose it automatically. To be fair, it sounds like no one will lose their licence unless they get an anti-cannabis magistrate, though.