The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it plans to use Reddit and other “novel” data sources to gain a better understanding of public health issues surrounding the use of CBD and other “emerging” marijuana derivatives like delta-8 THC. The agency published a report on its new Cannabis-Derived Products Data Acceleration Plan this week, explaining that the federal agency “needs robust information about potential safety problems or adverse events associated with FDA-regulated products, including [cannabis-derived products],” or CDPs. “FDA also needs information about general patterns of product use and emerging trends—and it needs this information in close to real-time so that the FDA can deploy its limited resources quickly and effectively,” it said. “The FDA believes that new approaches to detecting safety signals and other insights using diverse data sources and rigorous analytical methods can contribute significantly to FDA’s ability to respond to emerging and rapidly evolving product areas, like the CDP market.” To get the new initiative started, FDA first examined existing data collection and analysis methods, including “third party purchase data and surveys to traceability systems and mobile apps.” This initial step enabled the agency to identify data gaps and refine the process.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 10/20/2021 13:35:00