Arizona State Bar's Pot Warning Is Misguided

[Michael Komorn]

Arizona State Bar's pot warning is misguided

Arizona prohibits attorneys from advising clients

“The Bar says the sale or purchase of marijuana is forbidden by federal law, triggering an ethics rule forbidding lawyers from helping clients commit crimes.”

 

Those accused of breaking the law are entitled to legal counsel. So, it's odd the Arizona State Bar says lawyers risk violating ethics rules if they help anyone avoid violating the law.

But that's what the Bar's ethics counsel has decreed about the recently approved Arizona medical-marijuana law. Like the law or not, it sets up a complex system for selling and purchasing medical marijuana - a process difficult to navigate without legal assistance.

The Bar says the sale or purchase of marijuana is forbidden by federal law, triggering an ethics rule forbidding lawyers from helping clients commit crimes. The U.S. Justice Department announced in October that it will not prosecute people who distribute or purchase medical marijuana under state laws. Yet the Arizona Bar will discipline attorneys, which could cost them their licenses to practice, if they help people comply with state law.

 

The Bar needs to tread carefully. The right of attorneys to provide advice to clients is protected by the First Amendment and the Arizona Constitution.

- Clint Bolick, Phoenix

 

Michael A. Komorn

Attorney and Counselor

Law Office of Michael A. Komorn

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Southfield, MI 48075

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Email: michael@komornlaw.com

Website: www.komornlaw.com

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