CCL_RFI.pdf

Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

RFI NUMBER: MCA260003

Issue Date: May 14, 2026

Cannabis Clinical Care Line Pilot

STATE OF MARYLAND

MARYLAND CANNABIS ADMINISTRATION (MCA)

RFI KEY INFORMATION SUMMARY SHEET

Request for Information:

Solicitation Number:

Solicitation Type:

RFI Issue Date:

RFI Issuing Office:

Procurement Officer:

Closing Date and Time:

Cannabis Clinical Care Line Pilot

MCA260003

Request for Information

5/14/2026

Maryland Cannabis Administration

Merricka Brown 849 International Drive Linthicum, MD 21090 410-487-8079 Merricka.Brown1@maryland.gov

May 28th, 2026, 5:00 pm Eastern

Responses are to be submitted online only at eMarylandMarketplace Advantage emma.maryland.gov

CONTENTS OF THIS SOLICITATION PACKAGE

Section A General Information Attachment 1 Response Attachment 2 Specifications/Requirement Document Cannabis Clinical Care

Line Pilot

SECTION A

GENERAL INFORMATION

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

MCA260003

A. OBJECTIVE:

a) The purpose of this Request For Information (RFI), which is not a solicitation to procure, is a means of conducting market research to identify capable parties having an interest in the Cannabis Clinical Care Line Pilot procurement and to increase the likelihood of increased socioeconomic inclusion. The requirements stated in this RFI may not accurately reflect that which may be contained in a Request for Proposal, Invitation for Bid, Purchase Order RFP, Task Order RFP, or other procurement vehicle. This issuance does not constitute a commitment to issue a request for bids, award a contract, or pay any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this request. Furthermore, the MCA requires that all responding contractors abstain from providing any quotes or bids in response to this RFI.

b) Any information received in response to this RFI will assist MCA in collecting information that may be used at a future date for a solicitation. A submission in response to this RFI does not guarantee that the respondent will be included in any subsequent procurement. Likewise, a non-submission in response to this RFI does not preclude a recipient or vendor from inclusion in any future procurement.

c) As part of MCA's efforts to gather this information, MCA may schedule information sessions as it determines necessary with participants or others. The purpose of these sessions is strictly to gather information. This is not a procurement activity and will not result in an evaluation or a purchase.

d) MCA intends to subsequently solicit and award a competitive sealed proposal (CSP) contract for a (free to the caller) Cannabis Care Line (CCL) to provide professional information on medicinal cannabis and other health-related questions regarding cannabis use.

e) The contract award may be determined to be the most advantageous proposal to the State;

however, the makeup of this has not been determined at this time. MCA is interested in logically dividing up this requirement to increase the likelihood of being able to designate one or more portions of this requirement as a Small Business Preference (SBP) Procurement, and to allow for the maximum opportunity for Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Veteran Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) utilization at both the prime and subcontracting levels.

B. BACKGROUND

a) The intent of this RFI is to gauge the potential for vendor participation, including opportunities for MBE/SBR participation, in regard to a future solicitation for a competitive sealed proposal to procure staffing for a (free to the caller) Cannabis Care Line (CCL) to provide professional information on medicinal cannabis and other health-related questions regarding cannabis use to service consumers in Maryland.

b) Any solicitation resulting from this RFI shall require developing a CCL call protocol and standard operating procedures, including hours of operation; data collection and reporting requirements; and recordkeeping requirements.

C. INSTRUCTIONS

a) This information is for internal planning purposes only. Responses will not be used to evaluate firms.

b) In order to facilitate an expedited review and response period, the MCA is requesting that vendors structure their responses to match the order and number sequence provided below.

Wherever possible, please duplicate the tables shown. Responses in Microsoft Word, 11pt font, Times New Roman are strongly preferred. The page limit for this response is three (3) pages.

c) Respondents should give specific attention to the identification of those portions of its response which it considers confidential, proprietary, commercial information, or trade secrets, and provide justification why such materials, upon request, should not be disclosed by the State under the Public Information Act, Title 4 of the General Provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Respondents are advised that, upon request for this information from a third party, the Procurement Officer will be required to make an independent determination regarding whether the information may be disclosed.

d) Responses are to be submitted via eMaryland Marketplace Advantage no later than May 28, 2026, 5:00 pm Eastern Time. While this date is the cutoff for submissions, it is preferred Contractors submit their information as soon as completed and not wait until the deadline.

Submission prior to the deadline will assist the State in expediting the review process.

e) Attachment 2 – CCL Pilot Specifications are for informational purposes only and are subject to change.

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REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

MCA260003

ATTACHMENT 1 - RESPONSE

A) Contractor Contact Information:

Company Name Address Email Address Website Address Telephone Number Authorized Representative: (Name, Phone and email) responsible to disseminate requested information.

Satellite/Branch Office Locations

B) Socioeconomic Information: MBE/VSBE/SBR, if applicable:

MBE

VSBE

SBR:

C) Please fill out the information below based on your firm’s (including any anticipated team subcontractors) capabilities.

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a. Please provide tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability within the state of Maryland you indicated above. If there is a particular task outlined in the Statement of Work that hinders you from being able to cover a particular specification/requirement, please provide this information in your statement.

b. Please provide prior experience on projects of similar scope and magnitude. Describe up to three (3) projects relating to the work areas outlined in the attached specifications that have been completed within the past five (5) years.

Project Examples Project 1 Project 2 Project 3 Project Title Firm(s) performing the work Location Approximate dates of work Dollar Value of the Contract Contract Type Business owner for which the work was performed, with a reference and contact information General description of work to demonstrate relevance to the

SOW

Tasks self-performed Tasks that were subcontracted

D) General Questions.

a. Is there anything unduly restrictive about the draft specifications/requirements that would prevent your company from being able to compete?

b. What part of this requirement do you believe could be subcontracted out to increase MBE/VSBE participation (and why)?

c. What do you believe MBE/VSBE goals should be for this requirement, by region/county (and why?

i. As the primary contractor, how would you go about subcontracting this work or breaking it up to achieve these goals?

d. Are there any areas that you believe can be designated as SBR (and why?)

e. Are there any other items you believe that MCA should consider before finalizing the specifications and soliciting?

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

MCA260003

ATTACHMENT 2 – Specifications/Requirement Document Cannabis Clinical Care Line Pilot

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

A. The Offeror shall have at least two (2) years of experience with call center operations within the past five (5) years and be willing and able to integrate and utilize MCA’s existing call center infrastructure (Lumen/Genesys).

B. The Offeror shall only have individuals taking calls who meet the requirements set forth in Experience and Personnel (see next section) and have documented experience and training with medical topics including selecting products/strains for qualifying conditions, contraindications, side effects, and potential risks related to cannabis use. [NOTE: CCL staff are not permitted to recommend/endorse any specific brand of products.] If individuals do not currently have this training and experience, the Offeror must discuss in detail how this will be obtained prior to taking calls.

C. The selected Offeror and subcontractors may not have any of the following conflicts of interest: current interest in or employment by a cannabis licensee or registrant or be an active certifying provider.

[NOTE: Clinical Directors currently registered with MCA and employees of cannabis licensees may apply or be eligible to staff the CCL provided they withdraw their MCA registration and/or furnish documentation that they are not employed by a cannabis licensee upon notification of an intent to award.]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) is the state government agency responsible for regulating the cultivation, manufacture, testing, and distribution of medical and adult-use cannabis in Maryland, as well as registration for medical cannabis patients and certifying healthcare providers. As the cannabis landscape rapidly evolves, MCA continues to prioritize its medical cannabis program and ensure the program meets the needs of new and existing medical patients. Through surveys and listening sessions, MCA has heard that patients would value additional tools to obtain professional information on medical cannabis topics.

A cannabis helpline (hereafter, ‘cannabis care line’ or CCL) could enhance clinical access, while retaining existing program partners including certifying providers and Clinical Directors, as additional touchpoints will be needed with the state’s growing cannabis marketplace. Furthermore, the CCL helps ensure clinical access for social equity licensees, namely 70+ recipients of conditional dispensary licensees in 2024, who are not required to have a Clinical Director for two (2) years after becoming operational (micro dispensaries are not required to offer Clinical Director services at any time; see Cannabis Reform Act legislation). The CCL could also offer basic screening and referrals for problem use, filling a current gap and area of concern for many stakeholders, offering another access point for information on problem use for patients and caregivers as well as certifying providers and Clinical Directors.

MCA is approaching the CCL as a ‘pilot’ to enhance current offerings and gain insight into caller type, volume of calls, timing of calls (optimal hours of operation), and common topics/inquiries. The desired outcome of the pilot is to determine the extent to which it supports MCA’s goals to enhance the medical cannabis program to optimally meet patients’ needs as well as an understanding of the resources needed to support a cannabis care line long term.

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/bills/hb/hb0556E.pdf https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/bills/hb/hb0556E.pdf

SCOPE OF WORK – KEY REQUIREMENTS

A. Recruit, hire, train, and compensate CCL staff.

B. Develop a staffing plan to ensure a minimum of 12 hours of weekly CCL coverage (i.e., a minimum of 12 hours of taking calls each week). This should include some evening and weekend hours to reflect dispensary hours of operation.

C. Develop a plan for intake of multiple concurrent calls to minimize wait or call-back times.

D. Develop an SOP for handling calls outside the scope of the CCL and after hours.

E. Provide necessary software and equipment, including personal computers, stable internet connection, headsets, and printers. Ensure compliance with Genesys bandwidth requirements and operating system compatibility (found here). The solution should also address data storage and management needs, incorporate effective records management systems, meet specified RAM requirements, and outline system security and maintenance protocols.

F. Conduct pre-launch testing & troubleshooting to ensure smooth operations.

G. Collect data on CCL calls and provide summary reports to MCA. All caller information must remain strictly confidential and reported only in aggregate format.

H. Plan and host meetings with MCA.

I. Maintain detailed records and invoices.

EXPERIENCE AND PERSONNEL

A. Demonstrated knowledge of call center operations, especially managing multiple incoming calls at once, data collection and reporting, and resolving minor technical issues with software.

B. Prior experience in quickly hiring qualified staff and training staff on call center operations.

C. The selected Offeror is expected to provide (1) a Project Manager with a minimum of two (2) years of prior experience in call center operations within the past five (5) years; this PM will serve as a single point of contact for MCA and Lumens/Genesys (2) Clinical Staffing for the CCL, with the number of staff proposed by the Offeror.

D. CCL staff must be include only those with at least one of the following credentials: (1) a physician, physician assistant, podiatrist, dentist, nurse practitioner, or nurse-midwife, with an active, unrestricted license in good standing with the respective Maryland State Board, and actively registered to prescribe controlled substances in Maryland (see COMAR 14.17.04.07); (2) a licensed pharmacist in good standing with the State Board of Pharmacy; OR (3) a registered nurse or licensed naturopathic doctor in good standing with their respective Maryland State Board and at least eighty (80) hours of additional training in medical cannabis topics within the past five (5) years with documentation provided in this proposal.

HOURS WHEN WORK MAY BE PERFORMED

A. Due to the nature of the CCL pilot and dispensary hours of operation, hours may vary and include evening and weekend shifts.

THIS IS THE END OF THE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

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