Medical cannabis in the car: police monitoring, transport and driving

To carry a medicinal cannabis product into a car raises two different legal questions: whether the product and its transport can be explained and documented and whether the person is in a lawful and secure condition to drive. A prescription may support the first question and should never be interpreted as an authorisation to drive under the effects of THC or other psychoactive substances.

Can the police search the car?

That's right. Section 160 of Act 1801 of 2016 allows the police to register public or private means of transport with a view to, inter alia, establishing the identity of occupants, revising their property, monitoring the provenance and legality of objects that have been transported or to conduct actions if there is knowledge or indication of conduct that is contrary to co-existence or punishable conduct.

The police themselves explain that if elements are found to warrant an action during registration, proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure have to be initiated. That was why it was important to know whether the authority was performing a preventive check, imposing a police measure or initiating criminal proceedings.

A common scenario: the product appears in the glove box

Imagine this hypothetical scenario: during a monitoring, a uniformed found a bottle of cannabis in the glove box. The driver says it's medicinal but the bottle has no name, concentration, pharmacy or batch and the prescription's in another person's name. Although a true clinical history may exist, these events make it difficult to link the content found with an individual treatment and regulated provenance.

The same monitoring offers a different context where the patient is present, the product coincides with an existing prescription, retains the prescription sign, there is a purchase support and the quantity corresponds to the path or treatment. That documentation did not prevent all actions but reduced contradictions and allowed a verifiable explanation.

Where and how to save treatment

• Keep the product in the package or package with legible and closed sign.
• It lays the prescription into the patient's name and, if possible, the supply or invoice support.
• Avoid exposure to the sun or to temperatures that contradict the above storage conditions.
• It prevents access to children, pets and unauthorized persons.
• Do not mix with other cannabis or divide them into anonymous bags or bottles.
• It takes an amount proportional to treatment or displacement, and does not have a difficult reserve to relate with the medical schedule.

To transport isn't to consume inside the car

The carrier for own or medicated use and consumption are different conduct. Input into a car can create road risks, affect other occupants, cause odour or involuntary exposure and provide indications of recent use. If the product has the potential to alter care, co-ordination, perception or reaction time, do not use them before driving or while travelling.

Medical prescription does not remove traffic rules

Act No. 1696 of 2013 established penal and administrative measures to conduct an influence of alcohol or other psychoactive substances. The National Transit Code also allows authorities to request tests to determine whether a driver is under the effect of drugs, drugs, hallucinogenic or hypnotic substances.

The fact that a substance has been prescribed does not mean that its effects are compatible with driving. Following product warnings and individual information from the treating professional. If you have somnolence, tiredness, euphoria, slow care, or any perceptive changes, do not lead. Organizes an alternate driver, taxi or public transport.

What to do if the product is found in a monitoring

1. 1Do not make abrupt movements to the glove box, console or luggage and report where the product and document are.
2. 2It identifies who the patient is and shows identification, prescription, sign and dispensing support.
3. 3If true, explain that the product is being shipped closed and that it has not been consumed while travelling.
4. 4If they ask about the quantity, relative to the prescribed dose and duration without improvising an explanation.
5. 5If seized, request the minutes required by Section 164 of Act 1801 with inventory, basis and copies.
6. 6If the situation becomes a criminal matter or your fitness to drive is questioned, seek legal advice and follow the competent authority’s procedures.

Checklist before starting

• Is the driver fully apt and with no effect that will damage conduct?
• Do treatment belong to a person travelling in the car?
• Do product, prescription, patient and quantity tell a consistent story?
• The package retains an identification, concentration and provenance?
• Is it safely stored and out of reach of third parties?
• Is there an alternate plan if the patient needs to use the medicine while travelling?