Medicinal cannabis and safety-sensitive aviation activities
CASA DAMP regime — effectively nil tolerance for detectable THC Last verified:
The risk profile
Organisations conducting safety-sensitive aviation activities must maintain drug and alcohol management plans (DAMPs), with regulator-backed random testing across flight crew, maintenance, ground handling and related roles. The tolerance for detectable THC in this environment is effectively nil.
What the cases say
Sharp v BCS Infrastructure Support (Full Bench): an aviation maintenance worker's reading far above the cut-off justified dismissal even though impairment on the day could not be established either way. See the case tracker for full summaries.
If you work here
If your role touches safety-sensitive aviation activities, treat a THC-containing prescription as presumptively incompatible until proven otherwise - and have the clinical conversation about alternatives before, not after, a DAMP test. Disclosure obligations here are layered: employer policy and the DAMP itself. The Worker’s Rights Kit ($39) contains the disclosure letter, prescriber question list and post-test checklist.
If you run the workplace
Your DAMP and your HR policy must tell one story - workers should not discover the stricter regime mid-process. Route prescriptions into medical review immediately; improvisation in aviation is indefensible in every forum you might end up in. The Employer Policy Pack ($299) contains the policy template, disclosure form and risk assessment built for exactly this.