The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking a contractor to monitor social media sites like TikTok, Instagram and Reddit for conversations about marijuana and hemp products, and to conduct a survey of cannabis consumers, among other tasks.

The agency said in a request for quotes that it is seeking help to “address knowledge gaps on cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD), and emerging products and help inform work on policy and regulation, education and outreach, and compliance activities.”

The social media monitoring services will “capture data on products, ingredients, claims, consumer conditions, sentiments, and other attributes,” and FDA wants to be able to filter posts “by age-group, sex, persona, and other attributes…using trained artificial intelligence (AI) modeling, with click-through to verbatim conversation postings.”

FDA also wants the contractor to conduct a “US Cannabis Consumer Survey” focused on dispensary shoppers.

“The survey will collect data on consumer symptoms and paths to purchase, as well as product preferences, desired effects, medical conditions, occasions, frequency and history of use, average purchases, and preferred dosages,” the posting says.

A broader general population survey will also cover “consumer packaged goods adoption and needs, conditions, and behaviors, including use of cannabis, kratom, psilocybin, and emerging products in other categories with ingredients marketed as functional and/or other claims.”

Another survey will focus on women’s “usage and purchase behaviors and drivers across cannabis products and other consumer packaged goods categories by life-stage.”

“Life-stages will be defined as fertility/prime, perimenopause, and postmenopause, considered in core dimensions, such as physical, emotional, and financial, and by need states/drivers, such as hormonal, functional, lifestyle/behavioral, and others. Product coverage will include cannabis products, vitamins/minerals/supplements, functional consumer packaged goods and beverages, topicals, feminine health and hygiene, and others.”

With respect to CBD specifically, the contractor will need to provide data on both the market—”including size; top brands; product types, forms, claimed content; and other pertinent market attributes for CBD and emerging non-intoxicating cannabis products, including those that are state regulated”—as well as consumers of the products.

FDA specified in the posting that it requires “brand name or equal to Brightfield Group online data subscription and analytic services,” referring to a company that says it provides “predictive consumer intelligence and social listening for CPG brands in food, beverage, supplements, and wellness.”

The contract will cover September 30 of this year through September 29, 2027, FDA said. Quotes are due by Monday.

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