Kocot Law

Kocot Law Cannabis Attorney Attorney Kocot is a Northern California trial attorney.

His practice focuses on DUI & Criminal defense, as well as Ma*****na Law Compliance and Consulting.

What are your thoughts on using AI to draft contracts? Let me know in the comments.DISCLAIMER: Attorney advertising. Thi...
06/03/2026

What are your thoughts on using AI to draft contracts? Let me know in the comments.

DISCLAIMER: Attorney advertising. This post and any comments are not legal advice.

Some rescheduling thoughts that reiterate a theme from yesterday’s post:Evaluate the impact one rescheduling and next st...
06/02/2026

Some rescheduling thoughts that reiterate a theme from yesterday’s post:

Evaluate the impact one rescheduling and next steps based on YOUR specific circumstances and risk tolerance. Also, be on the lookout for federal, state, and local updates.

DISCLAIMER: Attorney advertising. This post and any comments are not legal or tax advice.

AI and cannabis contracts thoughts for your Tuesday. Be very careful using consumer models without any guardrails.There’...
06/02/2026

AI and cannabis contracts thoughts for your Tuesday. Be very careful using consumer models without any guardrails.

There’s a difference between asking ChatGPT to “draft a management agreement with XYZ terms” and receiving a result

vs.

Making that same request, but tailoring the output with skills/MCP connection that encapsulates know-how and over a decade of experience drafting that specific agreement type.

The former is a recipe for disaster. I hope that changes in the near future, but I don’t think we’re there yet.

DISCLAIMER: Attorney advertising. This post and any comments are not legal advice.

TLDR: Generalized advice can only take you so far. Make sure you’re evaluating everything rescheduling in light of YOUR ...
06/02/2026

TLDR: Generalized advice can only take you so far. Make sure you’re evaluating everything rescheduling in light of YOUR specific business and risk tolerance.

ALSO: It wasn’t the point of the post, but the “is registration mandatory” question is still unclear. At least one state agency, Oklahoma’s OBNDD, has indicated that registration is required. Be sure to consult your jurisdiction’s guidance and counsel on this issue.

DISCLAIMERS: Attorney advertising. This post and any comments are not legal or tax advice.

I hope rescheduling is a step in the right direction, but there’s a long list of work that still needs to be done. Prote...
06/01/2026

I hope rescheduling is a step in the right direction, but there’s a long list of work that still needs to be done. Protecting patients should be towards the top of that list.

DISCLAIMER: Attorney advertising. This post and any comments aren’t legal advice.

We’ve all heard the litigation trope: “Don’t put anything in writing you wouldn’t want read aloud in a deposition.” The ...
05/31/2026

We’ve all heard the litigation trope: “Don’t put anything in writing you wouldn’t want read aloud in a deposition.” The same rule applies to chatbots, with a bit of added irony for cannabis operators.

Cannabis companies are spending real time and money preparing for the federal oversight that comes with the rescheduling. However, those same operators then open ChatGPT and type questions/statements about potential litigation, deal terms, and compliance issues.

This creates exposure that most fail to recognize:

1) Discovery. Chatbot history is discoverable in litigation, just like email. Federal regulators may increasingly have the incentive to compel AI providers to produce records about cannabis operators’ inputs. Anything memorialized in a chatbot today is a future discovery target.

2) Privilege Issue, Part 1: attorney-client privilege doesn’t protect a client’s solo drafting session with a chatbot, no matter how legal-adjacent the work is. As operations and compliance teams take on more drafting work internally (with no attorney in the loop) to save on legal fees, the resulting documents were likely never privileged to begin with.

3) Privilege Issue, Part 2: where some underlying content was privileged before, disclosing it to a third-party AI service may waive that privilege over the underlying matter.

Cannabis operators are bracing for increased federal scrutiny while voluntarily generating records that federal regulators may be motivated to seek in the future.

Takeaway: Be very intentional about when and how AI is used within your organization, and train employees accordingly.

Lingering question: what’s the best way to incorporate attorneys (to preserve privilege, ensure accuracy, etc.) into client workflows while still allowing clients to obtain the benefit of reduced legal fees enabled by AI?

Or does the law regarding privilege need to adjust with the times and expand to include these convos as AI becomes more reliable?

Lmk what you think in the comments.

—

DISCLAIMER: Attorney advertising. This post and any comments are not legal advice.

California may be the focus, but the post-rescheduling M&A lessons at the link in the bio, story, channel, and at the bo...
05/30/2026

California may be the focus, but the post-rescheduling M&A lessons at the link in the bio, story, channel, and at the bottom of the post apply beyond California.

If you are buying, selling, investing in, or brokering a cannabis business after the April 2026 rescheduling order, the key questions are likely to come up in every state:

- Is the business medical, adult-use, or both?

- Is DEA registration required, available, or strategically important?

- How should 280E risk be evaluated?

- Should the deal be structured as an asset purchase, an equity purchase, or something else?

Address these questions before the LOI is signed, not after.

If you are considering buying or selling a cannabis business, feel free to reach out via DM (no sensitive information, please) to set a free consultation.

Link: https://kocotlaw.com/buying-selling-cannabis-business-after-rescheduling-california/

—

DISCLAIMER: Attorney advertising. This post and any comments are not legal or tax advice.

Address

1001 G Street #208
Sacramento, CA
95814

Telephone

+19165726445

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Kocot Law posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Kocot Law:

Shortcuts

Share

Category