Rodney Stevens Southern Cross University Dean of Law and former high-profile magistrate, Professor David Heilpern has called for reforms to roadside testing to ensure patients aren’t unfairly penalised. Doctors have legally prescribed medicinal cannabis for pain management to more than 1 million people in Australia, and despite those patients not being impaired, they risk a fine and loss of their driver’s licence if they are caught behind the wheel. “The vast majority of people who receive a script for medicinal cannabis have tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in their prescription, which is detectable in roadside random drug tests,” Professor Heilpern said. “If THC is detected in your saliva, then it’s a criminal offence. “You can be fined, and you can lose your licence. “In Australia, we’ve just passed a million scripts for medicinal cannabis, many of which would include THC. “And so, every single one of those people who fill and use that prescription are committing criminal offences if they drive on any road throughout Australia. “These laws were put in place at a time where cannabis was completely illegal. “Now that prescribed medicinal cannabis has been legalised, the driving laws need to catch up.” Introduced in NSW in 2007, Mobile Drug Testing was launched along with a new suite of offences for driving a motor vehicle with a prescribed illicit drug present in a driver’s system. The changes were designed to improve the ability of the NSW Police Force to identify and proceed against drug driving offenders, as previously they could only charge an offender with driving under the influence of a drug based on a subjective assessment of the driver’s level of intoxication. According to Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research BOCSAR data, in the decade from 2014, the number of people charged with drug driving in NSW skyrocketed by 836 per-cent to 13,815 in 2023, and the significant increasing trend of drug driving charges continues. Professor Heilpern said the drug driving laws can cause serious problems in regional areas. “When I was a magistrate, I was required to take people’s licence from them if they tested positive to THC while driving,” he said. “And that’s one of the reasons I left the job. “Even though they had a prescription and even though there was no hint that they were driving adversely. “For most people in regional and rural areas, there is no public transport and if you lose your licence, you could lose your job. “There’s an enormous social isolation in rural and regional areas that is exacerbated by the tyranny of distance. “All of the reasons a person might be using cannabis are only exaggerated by an increase in social isolation.” Professor Heilpern suggested Australia could learn from other countries where drugs are treated as a public health issue. “In Portugal, cannabis has been decriminalised as has a suite of other drugs,” he said. “In combination with a significant emphasis on rehabilitation, this has led to a decrease in the abuse of drugs as well as drug overdose. “If Australia were to follow suit, the side effects would be enormous in terms of police time. “A more productive legal environment will lead to a more productive medical environment, where people can seek treatment without stigma.” Professor Helipern studied law in Sydney and Canberra, plus postgraduate study at SCU, quickly making his mark as a solicitor, before being admitted as a barrister. In January 1998, when he was appointed, he was the youngest Magistrate in Australia, a position he served in for 23 years, five of those years as the NSW Senior Civil Magistrate. During his time on the Local Court bench, Prof Heilpern presided over criminal, family, mining, industrial, coronial, and children’s matters, and he also served as the principal educator for new Magistrates throughout Australia and the Pacific. In August 2022, Prof Heilpern was appointed Dean and Chair of Law at SCU.