STATE BAR'S POT WARNING MISGUIDED

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

The writer is litigation director for the Goldwater Institute.