Technically, possession is still against the law in most places, right? Could a lawyer potentially be disbarred for getting high?
Need answer fast! 
My understanding is that lawyers generally get disbarred for two reasons:
- Severe professional misconduct
- Conviction of a felony
Possession of a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor in a lot of places, and a person who was caught with a felony amount would still have to be convicted before getting disbarred.
I don’t know if the standards of lawyer ethics say anything about getting high, as long as it doesn’t interfere with one’s duty to their client.
Well, in the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, rule 8.4(b) states that:
Most jurisdictions follow the ABA Model Rules, so that language (or similar language) would govern in most places. This means that it would depend on whether or not the state bar thought that smoking pot reflects adversely on an attorney’s “honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness.”
Why chance it? There are plenty of folks who think that weed is genuinely evil stuff, and plenty more who’d tend to think that any serious illegal conduct on the part of a lawyer makes them less than trustworthy. Furthermore, if you lied to anyone about it, and then got caught, that would implicate your honesty even more.
I know lawyers who smoke - but I have to say, I think it’s a really bad idea. Write your Congressman, ask him/her to vote to legalize weed, and just drink scotch in the meantime.
Why, are you a lawyer ?
I kinda thought the smiley would take care of it, but maybe I should state that the “need answer fast” was just a joke.
In England and Wales, all Barristers have to be members of an Inn of Court. All the four Inns, have a policy of expelling members who are caught with drugs.
Substance abuse is a very serious problem among lawyers, but from a disciplinary standpoint, I think you’ll mostly get in trouble only if it affects your representation of clients. Which it will, eventually.
–Cliffy
Oh, this reminds me – when my mom went to law school (mid '80’s) she had a friend who knew this couple who had just taken the Bar. Typically new graduates spend that summer taking an extravagant trip somewhere before the time commitments of practice make it infeasible. These two decided to spend the summer following the Dead. Whereupon they were caught with a ton of acid. Everyone understood that it was personal use, just bought in bulk so they wouldn’t have the hassle of scoring every night. But possession is a misdemeanor. Possession with intent to distribute is a felony, and if you have the weight, you are presumed to have intent to distribute. They both got disbarred before they even were admitted.
–Cliffy
Possession in Canada is a criminal offence, carrying a criminal record - no distinction between misdemeanour or felony records. Having a criminal record prior to being called means that you need to make a special application to the Law Society for admission; getting convicted of a criminal offence while a member of the Law Society would trigger disciplinary proceedings.
Might not amount to a disbarment, but with so much riding on it, why on earth would someone take a chance on it?
You seem to assume that ‘smoking pot’ must always equal substance abuse.
Just wondering, do you think that drinking scotch must always equal alcoholism?
There is a guy in AZ who was convicted of murder and later graduated from law school. They would not allow him to take the bar exam but he is fighting it in court.