Why can’t we mention prescription medications by name?
In accordance with guidelines and regulations set out by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA), we are unable to disclose the names of our treatments until you have completed a consultation with a Polln doctor and have been deemed eligible for treatment.
Here at Polln, we prioritise your safety and well-being. These measures have been put in place to ensure that you are able to discuss all treatment options with a qualified medical professional who specialises in the prescription of natural medicines and can help tailor your treatment plan to suit your individual needs.
All medications prescribed by our Polln doctors have been approved for use in Australia.
As of 2022, there have been more than 248,000 scripts approved1 for prescription natural medicine since it was legalised Australia-wide in 2016.
If you’re among one of the thousands of patients living with a chronic condition in Australia who have received a prescription for natural medicines, it’s important you’re aware of the rules, risks, and restrictions that exist if you are going to drive.
In this article, we’ll answer your questions about driving as a natural medicine patient with a valid prescription in Australia.
Should You Drive While Taking Prescription Natural Medicine?
Because no two patients are the same, the question of whether or not you should drive while taking prescription natural medicine will also vary from patient to patient, depending on the effects you experience while taking your treatments.
At the time of writing, it is legal for you to drive in Australia as a prescription natural medicine patient, as long as you have no amount of the active ingredient known for causing psychoactive effects detectable in your system. But, there are a few other things to consider when deciding whether or not to drive while taking your treatments.
Any time you take your prescription natural medicine treatments or any other medication or legal substance that affects the mind and body, you should wait until you are confident that you are safe to drive and you are not experiencing any impairment or adverse side effects before you do so.
You should not drive while impaired by any substance – even if it is legal for you to have it in your system. So, if you are experiencing any symptoms like dizziness, low blood pressure, or drowsiness while taking your treatments, you should always consider whether it is safe for you to drive and wait until the effects have worn off and you are feeling better before you get behind the wheel.
The most important restriction for prescription natural medicine patients to note is that it is currently illegal to drive with any amount of the active ingredient known for causing psychoactive effects detectable in your system, even with a valid prescription.
This means that if you are prescribed a dried herb or natural medicine that contains any of this active ingredient, you will need to wait until the medication has left your system before you drive. This law exists in all Australian states and territories, except Tasmania.
This is challenging given that the amount of time your medication stays in your system can vary from patient to patient and is dependent on factors like the type of treatment consumed, the amount of active ingredients in the treatment, the method used to consume it, and the frequency of consumption.
Under the current laws in Australia, if you consume any prescription natural medicine containing the active ingredient and later test positive for those ingredients in a mouth swab test, you can lose your licence.
How Does Prescription Natural Medicine Affect Driving?
Any substance that has an effect on the mind and body is capable of affecting your ability to drive. This is true of both legally prescribed and recreational substances, as well as both standard treatments and prescription natural medicines.
So, any time you start a new medication or substance, change your dose or make any changes to your treatment plan, you should always wait and ensure you are not experiencing any effects or side effects that may impact your ability to drive before getting behind the wheel.
When it comes to measuring prescription natural medicine impairment, science tells us that there are several factors that play a role – including dose, mode of ingestion, length of treatment, and individual factors like weight and metabolism.
How Long After Consuming Prescription Natural Medicine Is It Safe to Drive?
If you consume a prescription natural medicine product that contains none of the impairing active ingredients, then it is safe for you to drive provided that you aren’t experiencing any adverse side effects.
Adverse side effects can include:
- Dizziness
- Low blood pressure
- Tiredness and fatigue
You only need to wait until you are certain you are not experiencing any side effects which impact driving before you get behind the wheel. However, if you consume a prescription natural medicine that contains an active ingredient that prohibits you from driving if found in your system, the answer to this question is a little more complicated.
Because it is illegal to drive with any amount of certain active ingredients in your system, and because the amount of time it takes for active ingredients to leave each individual’s system varies so much from person to person, there is no definitive answer to how soon you can drive after consuming prescription natural medicine.
While the effects of your medication may be less prominent hours after initial consumption, Australian police test for the presence of active ingredients, not impairment, when drug testing drivers.
How Long Does Prescription Natural Medicine Stay in Your System?
Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to this question, as it varies from individual to individual depending on a range of factors, such as:
- The amount of prescription natural medicine you consume
- How often you consume your medication
- Your body fat percentage
- Your metabolism;How much exercise you doThe type and sensitivity of the drug test you take
Generally, random roadside saliva tests can detect the active ingredients from your prescription natural medicine for about 12 hours5 after use in people who use their medication less frequently. But for those who frequently use their medication, such as prescription natural medicine patients who use their medication to help treat chronic conditions, the active ingredients can usually be detected for around 30 hours5 after use. Again, these numbers will vary from person to person.
For other types of drug tests, which may be required in certain workplaces or other settings, prescription natural medicine can be detected in your system for even longer, including up to 6 days for blood tests,6 up to a month for urine tests5 and up to 3 months for hair tests.7
Because it is so difficult to know when and if you might legally be able to drive after consuming certain active ingredients, if you are a legal prescription natural medicine patient who has to drive frequently for work or other activities, you may want to consider a treatment that does not include any of the active ingredients that are considered illegal to drive under the influence of..
As always, we recommend ensuring you are open and honest with your prescribing doctor about your driving status and current situation so they can provide you with a treatment plan that works best for you.
Driving and Prescription Natural Medicine Law Reform in Australia Through Drive Change
Drive Change is an Australian law reform campaign fighting to give prescription natural medicine patients the same rights as other patients.
They are a team of educators and advocates who believe that current drug driving laws ‘fail to improve road safety, discriminate against [legal natural medicine] patients and impede public health outcomes.’
Drive Change proposes equal rights for prescription natural medicine patients through the following solution:
‘The government implements Australia-wide uniform drug driving laws to allow for a complete defence to the presence of certain active ingredients in a driver’s oral fluid or blood when:
- The driver has a valid doctor’s prescription for a medicine containing the active ingredient
- The offence does not involve dangerous or reckless driving
- An officer cannot establish driver impairment.’
Visit Drive Change to learn more about how you can support the campaign and help create equal driving rights for legal prescription natural medicine patients.
Where Can I Learn More About the Prescription Natural Medicine Driving Laws in My State?
Click on these resources to learn more about the local driving laws in your state:
New South Wales
Queensland
Victoria
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
ACT
NT
The Bottom Line
Knowing whether or not you should drive as a legal prescription natural medicine patient can be difficult. But no matter what your situation is, you should never drive while impaired.
It’s important that you’re aware of the active ingredients found in your prescribed natural medicine treatment and any driving restrictions that exist for your treatment in Australia.
You should always be honest and open about your driving status, situation, and needs as a patient so your doctor can provide you with the best care possible and tailor a treatment plan that works for you.
Help create equal driving rights for legal prescription natural medicine patients by visiting Drive Change.
- MacPhail Sara L., Bedoya-Pérez Miguel A., Cohen Rhys, Kotsirilos Vicki, McGregor Iain S., Cairns Elizabeth A. Medicinal Cannabis Prescribing in Australia: An Analysis of Trends Over the First Five Years. Frontiers in Pharmacology Volume 13, 2022. DOI=10.3389/fphar.2022.885655, ISSN=1663-9812
- "Cannabidiol In Cannabis Does Not Impair Driving, Landmark Study Shows". The University Of Sydney, 2022, https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/12/02/Cannabidiol-CBD-in-cannabis-does-not-impair-driving-landmark-study-shows.html. Accessed 16 Aug 2022.
- McCartney D, Suraev AS, Doohan PT, et al. Effects of cannabidiol on simulated driving and cognitive performance: A dose-ranging randomised controlled trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology. May 2022. doi:10.1177/02698811221095356
- McCartney D, Arkell T, Irwin C, Kevin R, McGregor I. Are blood and oral fluid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and metabolite concentrations related to impairment? A meta-regression analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume 134, 2022, 104433, ISSN 0149-7634, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.004.
- "Roadside Drug Testing - Alcohol And Drug Foundation". Adf.Org.Au, 2022, https://adf.org.au/insights/roadside-drug-testing. Accessed 16 Aug 2022.
- Karschner EL, Schwilke EW, Lowe RH, Darwin WD, Pope HG, Herning R, Cadet JL, Huestis MA. Do Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations indicate recent use in chronic cannabis users? Addiction. 2009 Dec;104(12):2041-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02705.x. Epub 2009 Oct 5. PMID: 19804462; PMCID: PMC2784185.
- Himanshu Khajuria, Biswa P. Nayak, Detection of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in hair using GC–MS, Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2014, Pages 17-20, ISSN 2090-536X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejfs.2013.10.001.
The information on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only and not intended for use as medical advice. Polln is not promoting the use of medicinal cannabis. Medicinal cannabis in Australia is scheduled medication and regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Details about medicinal cannabis as a scheduled drug can be found on their website. If you would like to explore medicinal cannabis for your chronic condition, please consult with a doctor.
Our caring doctors are here to help every step of the way.
Appointments available same day, after hours and weekends.