When Ray Charles sang "Let's Go Get Stoned," he wasn't exactly crooning to New Jersey's lawyers, but now, well, they can if they want to (but not at work). The Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, recognizing the reality of state legalization of marijuana, recently decided in Opinion 744 that lawyers may use regulated cannabis—and operate or invest in regulated cannabis businesses—without violating ethical rules.

The opinion reflects an almost ethereal debate about whether the federal prohibitions against marijuana should guide ethical policy, an argument which was soundly rejected by the committee, which recognized that the federal law is not being enforced. Ironically, just a few days later, President Biden pardoned all who have been convicted of simple possession on the federal level and ordered a review as to whether marijuana should be considered a Schedule I drug along with heroin, cocaine and LSD.