Stuck in the slow lane while patients are left behind

The prescription for delay

In my years as a general practitioner, I have seen the damage caused by waiting. A patient sits in the clinic, their health deteriorating, while they wait for a referral or a test result that should have been processed weeks ago. In the medical world, time is often the difference between recovery and ongoing suffering. Unfortunately, this same culture of inaction seems to have infected the halls of our Parliament.

While New South Wales has moved with impressive speed to develop a common-sense solution for medicinal cannabis patients and driving, Western Australia remains paralysed by bureaucracy. We are watching another state demonstrate that workable policy is possible in a matter of months, yet our own government seems comfortable sitting on their hands.

Why we are falling behind

I recently sought answers in the Legislative Council regarding our progress, or lack thereof, on these vital driving reforms. It is clear that while other states are looking at the evidence and creating pathways forward, our Premier has not even bothered to correspond with his counterparts in New South Wales. This is not just a missed opportunity for collaboration. It is a fundamental failure to protect the rights of citizens who are simply trying to access legal medicine without the constant fear of losing their livelihoods.

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The human cost of bureaucratic red tape

The danger here is not abstract. It is visceral. Thousands of Western Australians are forced to choose between managing their chronic pain or anxiety with prescribed medicine and the ability to drive to their jobs, their children's schools, or their medical appointments. This is the definition of a Catch-22. It is a waiting room where the punishment has no scientific basis and serves only to alienate law-abiding, sick people.

We have a Minister for Police and Road Safety who has had, by my estimation, months to review sensible proposals. Instead of clarity, we get silence. It feels systemic. It feels like the government is more interested in maintaining a broken status quo than acknowledging the reality of modern medicine. When we ignore the evidence, it is not the politicians who suffer. It is you. It is your family. It is your right to live a life free from arbitrary, outdated restrictions.

I will continue to press this issue until the government stops hiding behind process and starts looking at the facts. You can examine the details provided in the official Hansard record to see exactly how these questions were dismissed. If you believe it is time for a more rational, compassionate, and evidence-based approach to our laws, I invite you to join Legalise Cannabis WA and help us build a future that values people over political inertia.