Can You Drive on CBD Oil in Australia? Laws and More

Can you drive on CBD oil and other medicinal cannabis products in Australia? Driving needs all your senses, so how does medical cannabis affect driving? You don’t want to put yourself or anyone else at risk, nor do you want to get caught doing the wrong thing. We get it.

Before we answer these questions we need to understand a couple of basic concepts. Firstly, we take a quick look at what medical cannabis and CBD oil are and how they affect a person. Secondly, we look at whether or not these products are legal in Australia.

It goes without saying that taking any illegal substance and driving is clearly a no-no. That’s why PD has put together this article to explore the safety of, and must-knows around, medical cannabis and driving.

What is the legal status of CBD oil in Australia?

In Australia, medical cannabis products are only allowed to be taken when prescribed by a qualified medical practitioner. There are more than 400 medical cannabis products that exist today. These range from chewables and lozenges to oils and sprays.

However, not all of these contain CBD oil. Therefore, when looking at whether or not medical cannabis will affect your driving you’ll first need to understand the two main active ingredients.

The cannabis sativa plant has over a hundred compounds that are known as cannabinoids. Of these, the two most well-known and researched are CBD and THC. In Australia, medical cannabis will either contain one or the other or a combo of these two active ingredients.

Can you drive on THC and CBD oil in Australia? To answer this question, we’ll look at how they might affect your driving. But first, here’s a video from the Therapeutic Goods Administration on medical cannabis in Australia:

How does medical cannabis affect driving?

Anything that could affect your driving deserves careful scrutiny – so how does medical cannabis affect driving? To answer this, let’s compare the effects of CBD and THC.

As we now know, the two main active ingredients in medical cannabis are CBD and THC. Important when looking at driving on medical cannabis is that these two ingredients affect a person differently.

While THC has a mind-altering effect, which in turn can affect your senses, CBD doesn’t. As a result, driving while using a medical cannabis product containing THC is illegal. That’s to say, if you have measurable THC in your system then you shouldn’t be driving.

On the other hand, driving with CBD in your system is not illegal, with a proviso.

Can you drive on CBD oil in Australia?

Can you drive on CBD oil in Australia? Although the combo of THC and driving is illegal in Australia, that’s not the case for CBD.

If you use a CBD-only medical cannabis product you’re technically allowed to drive. The reason we say technically is that this provision comes with a clause. In Australia you can drive with CBD oil in your system provided you’re not in any way impaired.

Although CBD is a non-psychoactive ingredient it can still have side effects. These range from person to person and can be affected by how much CBD oil you use.

Some side effects that CBD oil can cause are:

• Feeling drowsy
• Low blood pressure
• Low energy

It’s important to note that any medication, CBD oil or not, can affect existing health conditions. That’s just another reason it and other medical cannabis products are prescription only. Think for example of the potential consequences of driving with diabetes while also feeling unwanted physical side effects from CBD oil.

To sum it up, you’re legally allowed to drive on CBD oil medical product in Australia provided you’re not impaired. The best person to talk to in this regard is your doctor. Speak to them about dosage and effect on you as an individual.

Different strokes for different folks

While we know that THC and CBD affect people differently, there’s another distinction worth making. While THC is known for mind-altering effects and CBD isn’t, each of these can affect one person differently to another.

For example, one person might be affected more, or less, or differently by THC or CBD than another. This can be the case even when two people take the same product made using the same active ingredient. Several factors can contribute to this, from genetics to metabolism and dose.

Another factor is frequency of use. It appears that people who use medical cannabis containing THC are less likely to be impaired than someone using it occasionally. Either way THC can stay in your system for a long time (apparently it’s anywhere from 12-30 hours based on a saliva test) and while it’s still detectable you shouldn’t be behind the wheel. Speaking of which, read our article on RBT (random breath testing) and MDT (mobile drug testing).

Pet owners who use medical cannabis would do well to read about dogs and marijuana. Since dogs are prone to accidental ingestion, finding out the risks beforehand can help you safeguard your pup. That, along with having a great pet insurance plan.

Medical cannabis and driving

Now you know you can potentially legally drive on CBD Oil in Australia what about adding to your peace of mind? Consider getting award winning comprehensive car insurance to boost your mood. A car insurance policy helps you safeguard your vehicle and your savings in case of an incident.

A car insurance plan can help you with a myriad of sticky car situations. From incidents that need repairs or replacements to towing. It can also cover damage from attempted theft and vandalism to hailstones and storms. Did we mention replacement in case of theft too?

Regardless which of our car insurance plans you choose, they all include third party liability cover for costs you incur from damage to others’ property. Click below to get a quote on low cost, high value car insurance today.