Tell your NSW MP, let patients drive!

Medicinal cannabis patients are unfairly banned from driving even when they’re sober, because the law still treats prescribed cannabis as an “illicit drug.”

This outdated law is causing harm to patients across NSW and must change.

This kind of change will be made possible by helping politicians see this issue from your perspective.

When you email your local MP from this page, we will also send your message to the Roads Minister and the Premier. That means your story gets heard by the decision-makers who need to understand the real impact of these laws.

Your email will have the biggest impact if you add your own story. MPs already know the law exists, what they don’t know is how it’s hurting real people in their electorate. That’s where you come in.

You don’t need to write an essay. A couple of sentences about your own situation (or someone close to you) is powerful. It shows this issue is real and urgent, not just policy on paper.

Scroll down for ideas, tips and tricks for writing your story, and remember to delete the instruction sentence from the template!

Need more info about this proposed reform? Read our full explainer and download our expert endorsed policy report, Legal medicine Outdated Laws.

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.