Should You Become a Marijuana Lawyer?

Unless you live in a very small town, you're going to need to find your niche to develop a successful law practice. So why not become a marijuana lawyer?

As you may know, more and more states are legalizing marijuana for certain medicinal purposes. However, the laws are very new and potential users and growers need legal guidance.

Sure, if you practice in this area you'd have to tell people you specialize in marijuana law. And that's probably the major drawback to becoming a marijuana lawyer. But if you keep an open mind, there may be a wealth of opportunities for you.

There are already way too many lawyers out there. Plus there's an army of law grads taking the bar exam every year. So certain practice areas are flooded with attorneys and it can be hard to compete with established attorneys in areas like DUI law, criminal law, and family law.

Even in more specialized areas like patents, employment discrimination, and immigration, you'll probably find page after page of competition. But because of the unique characteristics of marijuana law -- it's new, there's a huge stigma attached to it -- there's relatively little competition and fanfare with becoming a marijuana lawyer.

However, before you jump both feet into the seemingly fun world of marijuana law, you should be aware that the practice area is heavily regulated and each state has very different laws and requirements. So you'll have to do a bit of reading to develop any type of expertise. And because the law is so new, there may be very little guidance and case law to help you.

It's hard to compete in today's legal market, and becoming a marijuana lawyer is one creative practice area you may want to consider. If you live in a state that has legalized medicinal marijuana and you are looking for a niche that does not have too many competitors with a large potential client base, this may be the area for you. Just don't tell your parents.

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