Former transport minister Jo Haylen returns from purgatory with a plea

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Former transport minister Jo Haylen has returned from the political wilderness with her first major speech since quitting the frontbench, arguing for her government to urgently overhaul the drug testing laws that discriminate against prescribed medicinal cannabis.

In what will be seen among her colleagues as the first significant step towards a return to Premier Chris Minns’ inner circle, Haylen has told parliament that NSW Labor must act urgently on the recommendations of the state government’s drug summit.

Former transport minister Jo Haylen has made her first foray back into policy debates after she resigned from cabinet.

Haylen was forced to quit cabinet in February after it emerged she used a taxpayer-funded driver for private trips, including one to the Hunter Valley to celebrate Housing Minister Rose Jackson’s 40th birthday. She did not break the rules in place at the time, but acknowledged she made a mistake.

Speaking to parliament on Tuesday night, Haylen said the message from the drug summit about changing the laws relating to testing for medicinal cannabis was “unequivocal”.

“Our current roadside drug testing laws are dangerously out of step with medical science, and they are causing real harm,” Haylen told parliament.

“For too long, the law in NSW has failed to distinguish between impairment and the mere presence of THC [tetrahydrocannabinol] in a driver’s system.”

Premier Chris Minns is keen for Jo Haylen to return to the senior ranks.

Haylen told parliament that in the past 12 months, more than 1.2 million cannabis medications were dispensed to people in NSW.

“These are not fringe cases. This is mainstream medicine. The fact is our laws are failing to recognise that medical cannabis is a common legally prescribed drug in NSW, and it should be treated like every other prescription drug,” Haylen said.

“Our laws are forcing people to make decisions to either compromise their optimal medical care or risk the legal implications of being found driving with THC in their system.

“This is discriminatory and it is unsustainable. This is matter of justice, of fairness, and compassion. And it requires our urgent action.”

The government is due to respond next month to recommendations from its drug summit, chaired by former Liberal leader John Brogden and Labor minister Carmel Tebbutt.

One of their recommendations was that the government should “legislate for a medical defence for people using medically prescribed cannabis who are driving”.

Haylen, who has been muted on the backbench since the drivers’ scandal, is expected to return to Minns’ cabinet in a future reshuffle, with the premier insisting her political career could be resurrected in the future.

Four crossbenchers – Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham and independents Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper and Wagga Wagga MP Joe McGirr – have also written to the premier and Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison urging them to act quickly.

Greenwich, who uses medicinal cannabis for anxiety and insomnia, said he cannot drive for days after taking the doctor-prescribed medicine in case he is pulled over by police.

“I’m lucky that I live and work in Sydney and can walk everywhere, but for people in regional areas this is an impossible and unfair situation,” Greenwich said.

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