The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving forward with plans to understand and oversee the booming CBD industry. A new call for bids is seeking a contractor to collect and assess samples of products containing CBD and other cannabinnoids (outside of the state-legal cannabis market.) The news was first reported by Marijuana Moment. 

“The purpose of these studies will be to develop a better understanding of the quantities of CBD and associated cannabinoids and their distribution,” according to the FDA. See the full document below.

All year, the hemp and CBD industry has awaited word from the FDA on what sort of rules might govern the production and manufacturing of these products (CBD-infused beverages and food, balms, tinctures and more). Last month, the administration submitted a draft enforcement policy to the White House. It’s unclear what the document lays out for the industry.

“My best guess is they’re going to give some guidance that will take immediate effect, and then discuss the plans for the regulatory process, which would probably take a few years,” Jonathan Miller, general counsel for U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told Hemp Grower. “But we’re grasping at straws here, because even some of our most powerful friends on the Hill haven’t seen this. We’re just holding our breath.”

This new request for a contractor to come in and collect CBD samples represents a more concrete structure for FDA research into the very questions the administration is trying to answer. How is CBD consumed? What does the market look like before firm federal regulation? How should CBD and other cannabinoids be understood as ingredients in food and drugs?

The contractor will collect 1,000 to 3,000 samples of CBD products on the market later this year and in early 2021.

“The overall goal of the long-term portion of the study, obtained through a contract laboratory, will be the collection of CBD-containing products of various types, including foods and cosmetics, from geographic locations throughout the U.S., and the analysis of these products for CBD content, for related cannabinoid content and profiles, as well as for chemical and microbiological contaminants that could be present in CBD products,” according to the FDA document.

The studies will be reported to Congress and will be used to inform future policy decisions.

FDA RFQ: CBD collection and assessment by sandydocs on Scribd