In New Jersey, Rule 1.2(d) of the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a lawyer from providing advice or assisting a client in conduct that the lawyer knows is illegal or criminal. Many states have passed legislation permitting cultivation and dispensing of marijuana for medical use. (Medical marijuana has been legalized in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and just recently the 23rd state is New York.)
However, under federal law, the cultivation, possession, transportation, sale and use of marijuana is illegal. Marijuana is designated as a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance. The divergence between state and federal law creates a myriad of practical, ethical and legal issues for professionals, their clients, employers and others involved in this business.
