NOI+-+compliance+testing.pdf

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

600 E BOULEVARD AVENUE

BISMARCK, ND 58505-00325

NOTICE OF INTENT TO MAKE A NONCOMPETITIVE PURCHASE

325-111-23.24 - MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM COMPLIANCE TESTING

4/1/2025

The State of North Dakota intends to make a purchase for which we believe there is limited or no competition. The purpose of this notice is to determine if other sources are available and whether the procurement method is appropriate. An interested party who provides an alternative to the commodity or service is invited to submit a written response to the Procurement Officer by the response deadline.

PURCHASING AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medical Marijuana

PURCHASE DESCRIPTION:

The State intends to contract with Adams Independent Testing, LLC to perform laboratory services for medical marijuana program compliance testing for the State of North Dakota as identified in North Dakota Administrative Code Sections 33-44-01-42, 33-44-01-43, and 33-44-01-44. The laboratory must be located in North Dakota and have an accreditation to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17025 by the third-party accrediting body American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) or ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB).

The laboratory must be operational no later than July 1, 2025, and the services must be performed by individuals who are able to successfully complete a criminal history record check (no felony conviction and no drug-related misdemeanor conviction within the last five years).

Manufacturing facilities will be responsible for paying all costs of testing marijuana and usable marijuana as required by N.D.C.C. Chapter 19-24.1 and N.D.A.C. Chapter 33-44-01. The Department of Health and Human Services intends to negotiate a set price for each test. The laboratory shall bill each manufacturing facility for tests performed and enter into an agreement detailing payment terms.

INTENDED SOURCE:

Adams Independent Testing, LLC 4510 98th Avenue S Fargo, ND 58104

PRICE:

The contract will become effective upon the date of execution and expire June 30, 2027, with options to renew until June 30, 2031. The total price of the contract is being negotiated and will be dependent on both the production of the manufacturing facilities and the demand of the compassion centers.

JUSTIFICATION:

North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) Chapter 19-24.1 requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish and implement a Medical Marijuana Program. Prior to any marijuana or medical marijuana products being transported to a dispensary, North Dakota Administrative Code Chapter 33-44- 01 requires compliance tests to be conducted. The Department of Health and Human Services is required by state law to select a laboratory (NDCC Section 19-24.1-22). Due to marijuana being a federal Schedule 1 drug, marijuana is not allowed to cross state lines. Thus, a laboratory must in North Dakota.

According the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, only one lab in the state is conducting testing of hemp. Similar tests are performed on hemp as required for the Medical Marijuana Program. To comply with state law, the Department of Health and Human Services must select a lab to conduct compliance testing as soon as possible. Utilizing the laboratory in state will allow for the program to continue to be appropriately implemented and to allow marijuana and marijuana products to be properly tested to ensure the health and safety of patients. Without a laboratory, the program could not function as no marijuana or marijuana products could be available for registered qualifying patients.

QUESTIONS:

A vendor may contact the Procurement Officer to discuss whether its proposed solution meets the requirements. Submit any questions or requests for clarification to the Procurement Officer as soon as possible and before the response deadline.

Jerry Ekstrom Procurement Officer E-mail: jeromeekstrom@nd.gov Telephone: 701.328.3325 TTY Users call: 7-1-1

RESPONSE FORMAT:

Vendors interested in submitting a response to this notice must provide the following information for consideration:

• Company Information: Provide the name of the firm, address, and website, if available.

• Contact Information: Provide the name of a contact person, telephone number, and email address.

• Specifications: Vendors are instructed to examine the Purchase Description included in this notice. When preparing your response to this notice, provide a point-by-point response to each of the described requirements. Provide detailed specifications demonstrating that the offered solution meets or exceeds the requirements stated in this notice. Provide any available documents and links to information available on the vendor’s website.

• Value-Added: Vendors may provide information about value-added features, functionality, alternatives, and additionally available components or services that are not specifically identified in the purchase description within the notice.

• Cost: Provide detailed cost information, including any applicable shipping and handling.

Responses may include pricing for any offered value-added options.

RESPONSE DEADLINE:

April 8, 2025, at 3:00 PM CT

RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS:

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION REQUIRED: An interested party must electronically submit their response through the State Procurement Office Online system (SPO Online) by the response deadline. This solicitation is posted on SPO Online: https://apps.nd.gov/csd/spo/services/bidder/main.htm. Upload instructions are provided below. Make sure to include your name and e-mail address when uploading responses to SPO Online.

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE “LAST MINUTE” TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE. We recommend uploading responses 24 hours prior to the response deadline.

Bidder must begin the electronic submission process well in advance of the response deadline to allow for transmission and resolution of any technical difficulties. Be advised that the STATE is not responsible for a vendor’s failure to timely submit a response due to any technical difficulties. If you experience any technical difficulties, contact the Procurement Officer listed in this notice or the State Procurement Office at infospo@nd.gov or 701.328.2740.

If documents are in the process of being uploaded when the response deadline occurs, the upload process will stop. The attempted submission will not be uploaded successfully and is ineligible for consideration. The STATE takes no responsibility for electronic submissions that are captured, blocked, filtered, quarantined, or otherwise prevented from uploading by any anti-virus software or other security software.

1. This solicitation is posted on SPO Online at: https://apps.nd.gov/csd/spo/services/bidder/main.htm

2. Select “Recent Solicitations” and find this solicitation. Solicitations are listed by close date.

3. Use “Upload Response” to upload a maximum of five (5), clearly labeled documents before the response deadline.

4. Offerors must upload their response as requested in the response instruction section of this notice.

5. The maximum file size allowed is 50mb per file.

6. There is a 50-character file name limitation for the document being uploaded.

7. There is 75-character limit in the TITLE field within SPO Online.

8. All SPO Online field entries must be alphanumeric. Dashes and underscores are allowed; however, the system does not accept other special characters such as apostrophes, & symbols, or quotation marks, etc.

9. DO NOT submit documents that are embedded (zip files), movies, wmp, encrypted, or mp3 files.

10.The vendor will receive an email confirmation from infospo@nd.gov that the upload response was received including the “File Description” for the uploaded files. Review this email to ensure all files were successfully uploaded. If the vendor does not receive an email confirmation, the upload was not successful, and you will need to upload the files again. If the vendor does not receive an email confirmation after the reattempt, contact the Procurement Officer listed in this notice or the State Procurement Office at infospo@nd.gov or 701.328.2740.

Visit https://www.omb.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/doing-business-with-the-state/procurement/spo-electronic-response-external-job-aid.pdf for the SPO Electronic Response Job Aid which describes how to submit an electronic response.

https://apps.nd.gov/csd/spo/services/bidder/main.htm mailto:infospo@nd.gov https://apps.nd.gov/csd/spo/services/bidder/main.htm mailto:infospo@nd.gov mailto:infospo@nd.gov https://www.omb.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/doing-business-with-the-state/procurement/spo-electronic-response-external-job-aid.pdf https://www.omb.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/doing-business-with-the-state/procurement/spo-electronic-response-external-job-aid.pdf