5.4.3.3  The Need to Adapt to Contemporary Culture

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Laws emerge from the prevailing moral climate, or at the very least they have to take account of the relationship between the law and morality (5.1.4) and what will be acceptable to people.  Enforceability becomes an issue if the law diverges too much from currently accepted moral values, as illustrated by the example of a jury which refused to convict a man for carrying a small quantity of marijuana even though he had clearly broken the law.[1]  This example is controversial from a legal perspective €“ juries are not empowered to change laws €“ and is also morally controversial, as described in the next section (5.4.4).

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