EVERYDAY ETHICS

Readers; Today we're launching a new Everyday Ethics column penned by
Randy Cohen, winner of three Emmys for his writing for Late Night With
David Letterman. Cohen's column appears regularly in the New York
Times. He's also written essays and fiction for Harper's and The New
Yorker. Let us know what you think.

- - editor

Q: I own a weekend house in a rural U.S. town. Recently I noticed that
my neighbor is growing marijuana on his land, and some plants are
actually on my property. I don't want to confront him, and I don't
want to turn him in, but I don't want to get in trouble myself. What
should I do?

C.G., Pennsylvania

A: You should gently ask your neighbor to uproot his plants from your
property. You need not put yourself in legal peril so he can
conveniently raise a cash crop or chemically raise his spirits.

However, I'd continue your good-neighbour policy and say nothing about
the plants on his land. You have no legal obligation to report this
crime and no moral obligation to enlist in the drug war.

(Do you have ethical questions you'd like answered? E-mail them to
ethics@nytimes.com or Everyday Ethics, New York Times Syndicate, 122
E. 42nd St., 14th floor, New York, N.Y. 10168)