Tell your MP: Let patients drive

Medicinal cannabis patients are banned from driving in NSW even when they’re sober. This unfair law is hurting people every day, and it’s time MPs heard about it.

Use this form to look up and email your local MP. Your address just makes sure it reaches the right MP; it won’t be shared. 

The email is pre-written, but you can add a couple of lines about your own story for the biggest impact.  We’ll also send it to the key decision makers: the Roads Minister, Health Minister, Police Minister and the Premier.

Read our full explainer page and policy report for the facts behind this outdated law and how it can be fixed.

Tips for writing your story

Writing tips:

  • Keep it short and real, a few sentences is enough.
  • Your story can show how harmful the current driving laws are and give politicians a narrative that they feel motivated to get behind.
  • Be honest about the impact on your life, health, family or community.
  • End with a clear call: you want your MP to support reform so patients can drive responsibly, like anyone else on legal medicine.

Think about which of these applies to you, and add it into your message:

  • I have a prescription
    “I’ve been prescribed medicinal cannabis, so I can’t drive legally even when I’m not affected. This has meant [losing work / risking my licence / being cut off from my community].”
  • I avoid getting a prescription
    “I live with pain, sleeplessness or anxiety but I can’t take the medicine my doctor recommends because if I do, I’ll lose my licence and my job.”
  • I’m a carer or family member
    “My [partner/parent/child/friend] has been prescribed medicinal cannabis, and our whole family has been impacted because they can’t legally drive. It’s added stress, extra costs, and made daily life much harder.”
  • I see the impact in my community: “People in my town are going without treatment, losing jobs or facing isolation because of these laws. It’s unfair and it doesn’t make roads safer.”

Together our stories are powerful because they demonstrate the unfairness of the law and the need for change. 

How to share your story safely and effectively

Use vivid anecdotes

Your story should draw on personal experiences throughout and ideally open with a vivid anecdote. Use these experiences to explain your point of view. 

Disclosing drug use

We worked with legal firm Dowson Turco to develop this guide to disclosing drug use as safely as possible. If your story includes your own experiences with drugs, here are some key tips.

1. Provide vivid detail about your experiences without revealing specifics about quantities, locations, dates or other people involved. 

2. Write in past tense and avoid making disclosures about future intentions to use drugs.

3. Consider who you are speaking with and ensure you are comfortable with the situation before disclosing drug use (both online and in person). 

Activate your support network

When you begin to tell your story, take the time to develop a support network. This will help make sure that sharing your story is a positive experience. Identify three people you can turn to for support, who share your values and understand why you are sharing your story. Make time to connect with these people, and talk to them about why you are sharing your story. This doesn’t have to be a formal conversation, it could be as simple as a chat with a friend who you can call on if you need support. 

In addition to talking with friends, you might want to reach out sometimes to external support services to supplement your tool kit. Click here for some places where you can go to get professional support.