Intros Driving on Medical Cannabis

[RickySmith]

hi guys, recently got prescribed my medicine. super happy as ive self medicated pretty much daily for 15 years and now i should feel like i can do it legally. but i still dont.
6 years ago i was riding my motorbike and pulled over by police (random check) and was drug tested and failed for THC. banned for 12 months.
since then, even though it was 6 years ago. im still very cautious about my medicine effecting my driving. id have a rule that if i have taken my medicine, that i wouldnt drive for 24 hours.
thats to give a chance for my saliva to be able to clear, and at least have a chance at passing the roadside drug swab next time it happens.
i now have a car and this has led to me barely using it (only 3k miles last year) (average is 12k miles a year)
because everytime i do, im aware im pretty much constantly over the limit even if im not impaired and i dont want to lose my license.
so i get stuck in a loop, where im stuck at home, cant manage to pass the 24 hours because it helps me and i need it.
my sleeping pattern is just a complete freestyle, im currently still trying to sort it out. i have ADHD, i sometimes just stay awake for a day or 2, (24-40 hours) and this is normal for me.
ive been nocturnal for a long time otherwise and obviously this effects my eating (breakfast at 8pm, dinner at 6am) and everything else.
usually i medicate at night to sleep, but mornings too to get my apatite and stuff. when i do i feel like i cant drive for the rest of the day, even when im feeling 100% completely normal hours later.
what practises do you guys take to stay safe on the road. i keep my signed prescription in my car, along with some other information that i printed off that supports it (receipts, ect.. )
and can anyone give me some advise on what i should do now please, thanks all.

 

[GrownHealth]

Welcome @RickySmith and this sounds like the routine I got myself into before becoming a legal patient but now you are I would suggest you drive when you feel fit to drive and not impaired and not be limited by if you would pass a roadside test and this is the approach I take now but still it may be well over an hour after medicating that I drive if I feel ok to drive .

Where you say that you medicate in the mornings but don't drive later on even when your feeling 100% completely normal then there is no reason not to drive at this time as you are not impaired and like myself I'm still a bit bound by stigma and old rules but you really are legal when not impaired and I suppose it's just about embracing that .

You also seem to have things covered regards your prescription in the car with other info but others will chip in with any advice they may have to offer , once again welcome

 

[RickySmith]

Welcome @RickySmith and this sounds like the routine I got myself into before becoming a legal patient but now you are I would suggest you drive when you feel fit to drive and not impaired and not be limited by if you would pass a roadside test and this is the approach I take now but still it may be well over an hour after medicating that I drive if I feel ok to drive .

Where you say that you medicate in the mornings but don't drive later on even when your feeling 100% completely normal then there is no reason not to drive at this time as you are not impaired and like myself I'm still a bit bound by stigma and old rules but you really are legal when not impaired and I suppose it's just about embracing that .

You also seem to have things covered regards your prescription in the car with other info but others will chip in with any advice they may have to offer , once again welcome

thanks for your reply, thats the first time ive really been reassured from someone who is in the same position as me, ive done alot of research and educated myself as much as i can. i guess i just need to stop worrying about it when im not impaired and stop focusing on that dreaded road side swab test !

 

[GrownHealth]

thanks for your reply, thats the first time ive really been reassured from someone who is in the same position as me, ive done alot of research and educated myself as much as i can. i guess i just need to stop worrying about it when im not impaired and stop focusing on that dreaded road side swab test !

Totally understand the mindset as it used to restrict me from driving a lot of the day before I became legal and then I started seeing common sense start to be applied as this issue came to the fore and MC began to be treated as any other medicine thankfully .

 

[Moon]

thanks for your reply, thats the first time ive really been reassured from someone who is in the same position as me, ive done alot of research and educated myself as much as i can. i guess i just need to stop worrying about it when im not impaired and stop focusing on that dreaded road side swab test !

My consultant put it to me like this: if your on MC and not driving erratically and they pull you there is no case a judge would throw it out. If however you are pulled for doing something erratic and over you will be judged like anyone else drug driving. So only drive if feeling okay about it and confident you are in control. And welcome to the forums @RickySmith

 

[node]

Welcome @RickySmith mate

 

[BudGuy]

My suggestion is act within accordance of the law PLUS a reasonable margin.

Normally my suggestion for life in general is act within the accordance of the law but go no further if it's an inconvenience to you - but there's certain situations where it's sensible to go beyond the letter of the law, and I'd say flying down a highway at 70mph in a 2tonne heap of aluminium, steel and explosive energy storage among much more vulnerable road users in one of those scenarios.

I'd also say the current law on this is very good for medical cannabis patients (if only the police actually knew it and followed it consistently), and we do ourselves a disservice if we don't add that voluntary margin, because if too many people fly too close to the margin too often, it's not beyond the realm of possibility for it to result in a law change that DOES severely restrict the freedoms of medical cannabis patients.

So my advice is twofold: 1) know the law inside out, 2) and apply your reasonable margin to it consistently and without exception.

For 1) I personally have printed out and laminated the relevant sections of the Road Traffic Act and keep in a folder along with printed copies of my recent prescription, clinic letter, car insurance document copies, etc. Essentially it says if you fail drug test for a controlled drug, you can be charged with an offence, however a valid defence for failing that drug test is if you took that controlled drug as part of a legal prescription, in which case its then necessary to prove that you were actually impaired by the drug at the time of driving.

For 2) Yes, certainly a time-margin is a good idea. Do not use your medication WHILE driving, don't ever be in a position where you're within reaching distance of your vaporiser from the driver's seat (mine basically travels in the boot if I am out with it), and leave a good reasonable margin of time between your last dose and when you next drive. How long that margin is will vary from person to person with tolerance and experience - new cannabis users will likely be out of the game for driving for 24 hours or more, others with a controlled tolerance may have a much more reasonable frame of time which allows them to get on with their day with some planning and adjustments.

Also, since your prescription means you can only be charged if it can be shown you're impaired, you can do your own "field sobriety tests" before driving. It's not difficult to find online what the basics steps of most such tests are. But the typical things like can you walk in a straight line with your arms extended, can you touch your nose with the tip of your finger with your eyes closed/head tipped back, can you track the passage of time to a reasonable degree of accuracy, can you perform some similarly complex motor task/reasoning task before you leave, etc. I'm not sure these are commonplace in the UK so I doubt you'd actually be asked to do them, but if it helps confirm for your own peace of mind that you've done some objective test of your faculties before you leave, then go for it.

Other basic tests like - if you can smell it/taste it on your breath or hands, you're probably not far enough from your last dose and/or your personal hygiene in public is questionable lol, or if your vape is still warm to the touch, it's almost certainly not far enough from your last dose etc.

--

But, the main thing to remember is that cannabis is no different from any other other controlled drug/medicine when it comes to driving. If you had not had been worried to drive in the past while under prescription for co-codamol, then there's similarly no reason to worry about driving while under prescription for cannabis. The NHS advice for co-codamol is the same/similar advice you'll see printed on your medical cannabis:

"Do not drive a car, ride a bike or use tools or machinery if co-codamol makes you sleepy, gives you blurred vision or makes you feel dizzy, clumsy or unable to concentrate or make decisions. This may be more likely when you first start taking co-codamol but could happen at any time, for example when starting another medicine.

It's an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected. It's your responsibility to decide if it's safe to drive. If you're in any doubt, do not drive.

Even if your ability to drive is not affected, the police have the right to request a saliva sample to check how much co-codamol is in your body."

So yeah, know the law, and know that if you exceed it, you're risking everyone else's freedom as well as your own. A bit of community accountability can go far - don't let us down.

 

[BudGuy]

PS hoping for cannabis to disappear from your system in 24 hours was always a pipe dream if you were a regular user, except if you maybe have a very low BMI or something. So you were always wasting your time with that strategy, even moreso now.

Personally I'm way more concerned about your "stay up for 24-48 hours" as normal course. That sort of sleep depravation can easily kill even your ability to perform a field sobriety test on yourself objectively, and it's way more dangerous on the road.

There are far more lorry drivers out there risking the odd spliff than there are risking driving beyond their legal time between mandatory breaks and rest. There's a reason for that - I'd suggest not accepting that aspect of your current cycle as normal and try to sort it asap.

 

[RickySmith]

My suggestion is act within accordance of the law PLUS a reasonable margin.

Normally my suggestion for life in general is act within the accordance of the law but go no further if it's an inconvenience to you - but there's certain situations where it's sensible to go beyond the letter of the law, and I'd say flying down a highway at 70mph in a 2tonne heap of aluminium, steel and explosive energy storage among much more vulnerable road users in one of those scenarios.

I'd also say the current law on this is very good for medical cannabis patients (if only the police actually knew it and followed it consistently), and we do ourselves a disservice if we don't add that voluntary margin, because if too many people fly too close to the margin too often, it's not beyond the realm of possibility for it to result in a law change that DOES severely restrict the freedoms of medical cannabis patients.

So my advice is twofold: 1) know the law inside out, 2) and apply your reasonable margin to it consistently and without exception.

For 1) I personally have printed out and laminated the relevant sections of the Road Traffic Act and keep in a folder along with printed copies of my recent prescription, clinic letter, car insurance document copies, etc. Essentially it says if you fail drug test for a controlled drug, you can be charged with an offence, however a valid defence for failing that drug test is if you took that controlled drug as part of a legal prescription, in which case its then necessary to prove that you were actually impaired by the drug at the time of driving.

For 2) Yes, certainly a time-margin is a good idea. Do not use your medication WHILE driving, don't ever be in a position where you're within reaching distance of your vaporiser from the driver's seat (mine basically travels in the boot if I am out with it), and leave a good reasonable margin of time between your last dose and when you next drive. How long that margin is will vary from person to person with tolerance and experience - new cannabis users will likely be out of the game for driving for 24 hours or more, others with a controlled tolerance may have a much more reasonable frame of time which allows them to get on with their day with some planning and adjustments.

Also, since your prescription means you can only be charged if it can be shown you're impaired, you can do your own "field sobriety tests" before driving. It's not difficult to find online what the basics steps of most such tests are. But the typical things like can you walk in a straight line with your arms extended, can you touch your nose with the tip of your finger with your eyes closed/head tipped back, can you track the passage of time to a reasonable degree of accuracy, can you perform some similarly complex motor task/reasoning task before you leave, etc. I'm not sure these are commonplace in the UK so I doubt you'd actually be asked to do them, but if it helps confirm for your own peace of mind that you've done some objective test of your faculties before you leave, then go for it.

Other basic tests like - if you can smell it/taste it on your breath or hands, you're probably not far enough from your last dose and/or your personal hygiene in public is questionable lol, or if your vape is still warm to the touch, it's almost certainly not far enough from your last dose etc.

--

But, the main thing to remember is that cannabis is no different from any other other controlled drug/medicine when it comes to driving. If you had not had been worried to drive in the past while under prescription for co-codamol, then there's similarly no reason to worry about driving while under prescription for cannabis. The NHS advice for co-codamol is the same/similar advice you'll see printed on your medical cannabis:

"Do not drive a car, ride a bike or use tools or machinery if co-codamol makes you sleepy, gives you blurred vision or makes you feel dizzy, clumsy or unable to concentrate or make decisions. This may be more likely when you first start taking co-codamol but could happen at any time, for example when starting another medicine.

It's an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected. It's your responsibility to decide if it's safe to drive. If you're in any doubt, do not drive.

Even if your ability to drive is not affected, the police have the right to request a saliva sample to check how much co-codamol is in your body."

So yeah, know the law, and know that if you exceed it, you're risking everyone else's freedom as well as your own. A bit of community accountability can go far - don't let us down.

thank you for taking your time to explain this, its helped alot ! great info that !

 

[RickySmith]

PS hoping for cannabis to disappear from your system in 24 hours was always a pipe dream if you were a regular user, except if you maybe have a very low BMI or something. So you were always wasting your time with that strategy, even moreso now.

Personally I'm way more concerned about your "stay up for 24-48 hours" as normal course. That sort of sleep depravation can easily kill even your ability to perform a field sobriety test on yourself objectively, and it's way more dangerous on the road.

There are far more lorry drivers out there risking the odd spliff than there are risking driving beyond their legal time between mandatory breaks and rest. There's a reason for that - I'd suggest not accepting that aspect of your current cycle as normal and try to sort it asap.

yeah man my sleep is a big problem for me, and now since ive stopped taking street cannabis (stardawgs and haze) and started taking medical cannabis, im only on day 3 and already an improvement. but i just woke up from a full sleep, and its 9:30pm now so im doomed to stay up until tomorrow night now lol ! i always knew i was stressing myself out for nothing with my old strategy (24 hours+) and was constantly running the risk anyway. thanks for your last comment you covered alot and i feel my wisdom on such matters has increased !