U.S. Customs and Border Protection is moving to acquire two additional portable cannabis analyzers, potentially bringing the number of new units sought by the agency this month to five.
The new procurement notice is separate from a September 8 notice in which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced plans to purchase three LightLab3 analyzers from New Hampshire-based Orange Photonics.
The September 16 notice calls for two LightLab 3 LE High Sensitivity Cannabis Analyzers for CBP’s Laboratories and Scientific Services division. A sole-source determination accompanying the notice identifies the Houston Laboratory as the requesting operation.
The devices would be used in laboratory and field settings to rapidly screen and triage drug seizures, commodities and other potentially violative items. CBP says the analyzers must be capable of “the detection and identification of cannabinoids and determining the relative dry weight amounts of detected cannabinoids.”
The equipment must also be portable and self-contained, analyze samples in less than 20 minutes, store results onboard and allow data to be transferred using a USB flash drive.
The proposed purchase includes hard-sided carrying cases, setup, initial software configuration, in-person training and enough accessories and consumables to conduct 200 analyses, or 100 per device. CBP expects the equipment, setup and training to be completed within 30 to 60 days after an award.
The new acquisition is distinct from the three-unit purchase previously reported by The Marijuana Herald. That earlier procurement involved LightLab3 analyzers intended for field laboratories, forward-operating laboratories and mobile operations and was issued under a different procurement number.
If both acquisitions are completed as currently proposed, CBP would acquire five new Orange Photonics cannabis analyzers through the two September procurement actions.
As with the earlier purchase, the latest acquisition has not yet been formally awarded. CBP intends to purchase the two analyzers from Orange Photonics on a sole-source basis but is accepting capability statements from other interested companies through September 23 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
The agency says that if no responses are received, it will request a written quotation from Orange Photonics and proceed with an award.
