The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is seeking a contractor to manufacture and roll hundreds of thousands of “marijuana cigarettes” for research purposes. The agency has seen a significant increase in demand for these products in recent years, driven by the rapidly expanding research efforts in the area of drug abuse.
The contractor will be responsible for manufacturing tens of thousands of standardized joints and smaller batches of hand-rolled joints, with THC and CBD levels below those found in most commercially available products. The agency is also seeking contractors to acquire other controlled substances, including nicotine research cigarettes, morphine, methadone, naltrexone, and other compounds of interest to the drug abuse research community.
The request for proposals includes sample task orders that outline the necessary tasks, including evaluating the strength of the marijuana cigarettes, performing quality control on new and previously manufactured joints, and monitoring products stored at various temperatures over time.
NIDA has been working to study peripheral cannabis-related matters, including how to improve product warning labels to better inform people about the risks of marijuana use. The agency has also created a “cannabis registry” to capture data on cannabis product use and health outcomes, and conduct testing on products associated with adverse outcomes.
The demand for controlled substances, including cannabis and psychedelics, has increased significantly in recent years, and federal agencies have been calling for increased production to meet the growing demand from researchers. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has released new quotas for the production of Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances, including cannabis and psychedelics, and has proposed dramatic increases in production in the past.
NIDA Director Nora Volkow has expressed concerns about the commercial marijuana market, arguing that it has “presented new opportunities for commercial interests to drive drug consumption across all ages and demographics.” However, she has also recognized that data shows rates of youth marijuana use have remained stable despite her concerns about the potential impact of legalization.
The agency’s efforts to acquire and manufacture controlled substances, including cannabis, are part of its broader mission to support research and understanding of drug abuse and addiction.
