Watch: Cannabis driving limits to be considered instead of zero tolerance

The government will be considering and taking into account the advice of medical experts who have insisted that roadside drug testing should focus on actual impairment not just the presence of a substance in a body, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said on Monday.

The Foundation for Social and Welfare Services, Doctors for Road Safety and the Maltese Association of Psychiatry said last week that drug testing plans should be amended to introduce legal limits for cannabis instead of a zero-tolerance approach. 

The minister made his comments in reply to questions by Times of Malta shortly before parliament starts to debate a bill introducing random drug and alcohol tests for motorists.  

Cannabis is legal for both recreational and medical use in Malta and several stakeholders, including cannabis regulator ARUC, have argued that the new procedure, as originally drawn up, is flawed, since traces of cannabis can be detected even when a driver is not impaired. 

The minister explained that possible changes to the new law will only apply for cannabis, which is legal in Malta as well as prescription drugs. There will be zero tolerance for illegal drugs such as cocaine. 

"We don't want to be in a situation where people are afraid to take their medicines," Camilleri said."

"The same applies for someone who maybe smoked (cannabis) a week ago and his driving is not impaired," he said.