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Nsw Govt Rejects Medicinal Cannabis Defence
On the far south coast of NSW, Shan Thinkatarai spends his days volunteering at a community radio station, hosting his regular "Tuesday Drive with Shan." But life changed drastically when he failed a roadside drug test in March despite using prescribed medicinal cannabis two days earlier for chronic pain following back surgery.
"I'm 100% certain I wasn't impaired," Shan said, describing the test's devastating impact. "It had catastrophic consequences for my employment." His story has become a lightning rod in the ongoing debate across NSW about the fairness of roadside testing for medicinal cannabis users.
Last year's drug summit proposed legal protections for people like Shan who test positive for THC yet are not impaired. However, the NSW government has declined to adopt that recommendation, citing concerns about public safety. Critics say the decision is deeply unfair. "Lives could be at risk; our road toll is increasing," one advocate warned.
The NSW government insists it will continue studying approaches from other Australian jurisdictions before considering reforms. "We'll look at how others are handling medicinal cannabis and see if a balanced scheme is possible," an official said. But for now, patients using prescribed medicinal cannabis remain vulnerable to losing their licenses and jobs even when not impaired.
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