Committee tells state judges not to invest in pot

California state judges should just say no when it comes to investing in cannabis businesses, a judicial ethics committee said this week.

The state’s Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions said on Wednesday — the eve of the nationwide 4/20 celebration of marijuana and cannabis culture — that holding stakes in a business that is involved in the sale or manufacturing of pot would constitute a violation of the law.

Recreational marijuana will be legal in California next year, but federal law prohibits such use. Investing in a business considered illegal under federal law would run afoul of the state’s judicial ethics rules, the committee said.

The committee added that judges should keep away from pot businesses to avoid the impression that they are unable to issue a fair ruling in a marijuana-related case.

“There will always be at least an appearance of impropriety and doubts regarding impartiality when a judge decides to disregard a law to benefit his or her personal interest,” the committee wrote.

The committee also encouraged the state’s judges to review their investment portfolios and those of their spouses or domestic partners to ensure that they aren’t investing in marijuana-related businesses indirectly through corporate stock, real estate or private equity.

Judges have an “ongoing duty to make reasonable efforts to inform himself or herself about any financial interest in a marijuana enter-

prise. If the judge discovers such a financial interest, he or she should divest himself or herself of such investment or otherwise take steps to ensure the termination of the enterprise,” the committee said.

The committee’s members are appointed by the state Supreme Court.