Marijuana on display at 3D Cannabis Center in Denver. (RJ Sangosti, Denver Post file)

Nevada lawyers seek protection of their own for medical pot cases

LAS VEGAS—The Nevada Supreme Court is being asked to set rules to protect lawyers who advise clients on medical marijuana issues.

Nevada Bar Association President Alan Lefebvre (leh-FEE’-ver) filed a request this week for the state high court to shield attorneys from losing their law licenses for representing medical marijuana dispensary owners.

The worry is that federal law prohibits using and growing medical marijuana.

Lefebvre tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal (http://bit.ly/1kOYFIC) that state supreme courts in Colorado and Washington are considering similar petitions, but Nevada could become the first state with such a rule.

The petition says several attorneys expressed concerns to a State Bar ethics hotline.

The organization’s governing board considered amending bar rules of professional conduct last week to let lawyers provide legal advice about medical marijuana.

This story was first published on DenverPost.com