The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning a new cannabis public health messaging initiative that would test communications with consumers and healthcare providers and develop recommendations covering issues including potency, product formulations, manufacturing and health impacts.
The initiative is detailed in a newly released draft statement of work accompanying a federal contracting notice posted September 14. FDA intends to award a sole-source contract to the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA to carry out 16 regulatory science and public health projects, including a dedicated project titled “Cannabis Public Health Message Testing.”
Under the proposal, the project would develop an evidence-based public health messaging framework through stakeholder engagement, message testing and analysis of the results.
The work would include listening sessions and focus groups with members of the public to identify areas of confusion and unmet information needs surrounding cannabis products. Researchers would examine consumer beliefs and assumptions, including perceptions that products described as natural are inherently safe and misconceptions about the extent to which FDA regulates cannabis products.
A separate portion of the project would involve listening sessions and interviews with healthcare providers. Those discussions would examine information gaps, concerns raised by providers and the types of materials they would find most useful when counseling patients, such as clinical decision aids and concise informational resources.
The project would also assess whether healthcare providers need additional continuing education on cannabis-related issues.
After gathering stakeholder input, the Reagan-Udall Foundation would prioritize public health communication topics and develop proposed messages for both consumers and healthcare professionals. Those messages would then be tested for effectiveness, clarity and possible unintended consequences before being refined based on the results.
FDA says the initiative should address information about cannabis product formulations, potency, manufacturing and health effects, with particular attention to adolescents, young adults, pregnant and breastfeeding women and older adults.
The final stage would produce a white paper and communications report summarizing the stakeholder engagement and message-testing results and proposing potential communication strategies and a broader framework for FDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to consider.
The cannabis project is one of 16 included in the proposed contract, which would run from September 30, 2026, through September 29, 2027. Other projects address nicotine and alcohol use disorders, rare diseases, generic drugs, medical devices and other regulatory issues.
FDA has not yet formally awarded the contract. The agency’s September 14 notice states that it intends to make a sole-source award to the Reagan-Udall Foundation, with responses from other potentially capable organizations due September 21.
The Reagan-Udall Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization created by Congress to support FDA’s regulatory science mission. Federal law prohibits the organization from participating in FDA regulatory decision-making or advising the agency on specific regulatory policies.
