The Impact of AI on Legal Writing in the Cannabis Industry
In our previous post, Cannabis and the Law: Technology and Valuation, we discussed the unique intersection between Cannabis and technology. In this article, we will discuss how AI, specifically a legalese generator, could help eliminate some of the hurdles currently associated with hemp and marijuana legislation. We’ve all been there. Having your attorney present something saying you need to do something in a vague and complicated manner where it seems like what you truly want and what you need to do is two different things.
What if there was a tool to cut through the weeds like a legalese generator to write like a lawyer but without that lingo? Think about how long legislative manuals must be; any bill that is going to be passed has to be clear and concise. But, unfortunately, usually is not the case that this is happening when writing such bills. In fact, a Massachusetts attorney is even creating an app that will translate legalese for cannabis businesses, “The app will translate legalese into plain English so new entrepreneurs can understand the compliance standards . . . [and] get reminders of when payments are due [and] payroll alerts.”
While this app may be helpful, it’s not the only advance in legal drafting that could be helpful to the cannabis and hemp industries. Another tool could be on the forefront: a legalese generator that uses AI to draft legislation, such as Weed the Vote. While this tool is obviously cannabis specific, it may not just be restricted to cannabis alone. What if this legalese generator made a hemp law that was clear and concise in wording while still including the legal language necessary to be put into law? Could we see more states drafted legislation that complies with the 2018 Farm Bill and that advances the hemp industry, without the haze of legalese?
Weed the Vote is such a cool tool that will help every state that wants to get a jumpstart in writing a bill, especially in a style that is prevalent in the industry. The advancement of technology through AI like this legalese generator is exactly what we need in this burgeoning industry to help shape regulations and compliance standards to help guide you through the system. Of course, AI isn’t infallible, and may be doomed to fail if it is working on the same rules that have been put in place.
If you made the text of the bills more concise and less vague, this in turn could help the legalese generator to generate quality work that can be turned into greater laws for hemp and marijuana related bills and ordinances. Currently, over 30 states across the U.S. have legalized marijuana in one way or another. With cannabis and hemp being illegal at the federal level, there are some issues with them tackling each other over the regulations and restrictions of what can happen between the two substances.
According to Vice: “[T]his rift between cannabis and hemp is expected to resolve itself with new legislation. But getting there is a challenge.” If the generator can help make more concise and understand regulations and ordinances for both cannabis and hemp that can produce clearer laws we may actually see a reconciliation for the way the two substances handle each other. A great place to start would be to draft what language is specifically required for hemp to comply with the 2018 Farm Bill and the regulations that came out of it.
This would help to bridge that gap, and the industry could adopt it as a standard for what to do after the 2019 farming season in the U.S. ends. The model bill lets states set their own fees for registering producers for hemp and take over the permitting process from the federal government. THC percentages are to be defined at 0.3 percent, hemp must be tested before it is distributed, plus there are tracking and sampling procedures that states should follow. The bill also defines ‘hemp’ as “the plant Cannabis sativa L and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, . . . with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.”
While the model bill is a good start, regulation and compliance standards for hemp will likely require further clarification and clean-up. However, by the titled legalese generation, it could help. In fact, a study of Stanford and Princeton researchers that surveyed 14 million Wikipedia editors found that certain inexperienced editors tend to read 72% less content when presented with legalese over plain English. If this technology can be placed into a legalese generator to produce quality legal documents and grounds up based on concise legal standards, it could not only help the cannabis and hemp industry but many others as well.
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