Drug driving offences pursuant to sections 49(1)(bb) or (h) or (i) of the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic) carry a mandatory minimum licence disqualification period of 6 months for a first offence and 12 months for a subsequent offence pursuant to section 50(IE).
A recent legislative change means that a drug driving offence, committed pursuant to the above mentioned sections, no longer results in a mandatory licence loss where the drug is medicinal cannabis and it is used in accordance with the prescription. The legislation provides the court with a power to disqualify a driver licence but it does not make it mandatory. It is important to understand that having a prescription does not provide a defence to the charge, the court may for example still fine you, it is the licence disqualification aspect of your case that is impacted by the legislative change.
It is important to seek legal advice in these circumstances to give you the best chance of keeping your driver licence. It is important that you plea to the correct charges, for example a drug driving offence pursuant to section 49(1)(ba) continues to carry mandatory licence disqualification periods. It is important that strong submissions are made on your behalf and the correct plea material submitted to the court to give you the best chance of retaining your driver licence.
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