In April, 2021, Virginia joined seventeen other states, two U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia in legalizing small amounts of cannabis for adult recreational use. Additionally, all but a handful of states have decriminalized or legalized the medical use of cannabis. Yet cannabis (marihuana) remains a Schedule I Drug under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act; i.e. a drug or substance that has a high potential for abuse, with no currently accepted medical use in the U.S., and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. This program will discuss the ethical implications for lawyers: (a) advising clients involved in the cannabis industry, both medical and retail; (b) using medical and retail cannabis in accordance with state law; and (c) owning an interest in a cannabis business.

Douglas J. Ende
Chief Disciplinary Counsel
Washington State Bar Association

Douglas J. Ende is the Chief Disciplinary Counsel at the Washington State Bar Association, where he has worked for more than 20 years. An erstwhile member of the faculty of the University of Washington School of Law, he was voted Professor of the Year in 1991. From 2013-2020 he served four terms on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), both as an at-large director and as its secretary, and in 2020 he received the NOBC President’s Award “in recognition of lifetime achievement in the field of lawyer regulation.” He is the author of several volumes of Thomson-West’s Washington Practice Series: 14, 14A, and 15 Civil Procedure, and 15A Washington Handbook on Civil Procedure. He was a 2009 recipient of the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs Meritorious Service Award. He is currently serving a three-year term on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Mr. Ende requests that you please refrain from booing or throwing things at him until the conclusion of the program.

Bill Slease
Chief Disciplinary Counsel
New Mexico State Bar Association 

William D. Slease  (“Bill”) is the Professional Practice Program Director for the State Bar of New Mexico.  In addition to his duties at the State Bar, he serves as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law where he teaches 1L Lab and Ethics, and serves as a practice skills evaluator for the evidence-trial practice skills course.  He formerly served as the Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the New Mexico Supreme Court Disciplinary Board.  Prior to his work in the public service sector, he was in private practice with an emphasis in civil rights, employment and tort litigation.