The FDA just made it a little easier on marijuana testing companies

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The agency has relaxed controls to make testing more affordable

Just as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been remiss in setting up regulations to control the booming market of cannabis, it is taking steps to bring the situation to acceptable levels. A new policy change was announced by this agency that will work in favor of expediting the market for certain marijuana testing devices. This policy is a time-saver since many of the companies that manufacture medical devices need to undergo a process of approval with the FDA, involving assurances of safety and effectiveness.

Under these new proposed guidelines, depending on what would be the final use, some testing instruments for cannabinoids will be exempt from that requirement so they can get to market in less time. This policy will only benefit those devices or instruments that are “intended for any use other than employment or insurance testing or is intended for Federal drug testing programs,” which is based on the noted published in the Federal Register last week. Over 200 exemptions were already made for a wide range of medical devices due to this new filing and this change follows compliance with a 2016 law that sets some instructions top proper identify those devices that didn’t need premarket notification.

Added in the same note, “FDA’s action decreases regulatory burden on the medical device industry and eliminates private costs and expenditures required to comply with certain Federal regulations.” Within this policy, once approved, companies need to have in the label “a statement in the labeling that the device is intended solely for use in employment and insurance testing and does not include devices intended for Federal drug testing programs.” One example would be the ones used by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or the Department of Transportation.