19 applications for new dispensary licenses in Connecticut

Connecticut received 19 applications for dispensary licenses by the Sept. 18 deadline, showing healthy business interest in the state’s growing medical cannabis industry.

The state is looking to add dispensaries in two particular counties: New Haven and Fairfield. Roughly 50% of Connecticut’s 5,357 registered medical marijuana patients live in those counties, but New Haven and Fairfield each only have one dispensary.

The state will award up to three more dispensary licenses, adding to the six it has already granted.

The names of applicants and details of the proposals were not released. The state Department of Consumer Protection said it expects to make selections early next year, and the dispensaries could be open by June, according to the Hartford Courant.

Medical cannabis sales in Connecticut launched last fall, and since then the number of registered patients has tripled. That, along with an expected expansion of the MMJ qualifying condition list, is what prompted state officials to boost the number of dispensaries.

The condition list is poised to grow from 11 ailments to 18, according to the Courant.

Connecticut’s existing dispensaries are expected to generate $6 million to $8 million in revenue this year, according to projections in the 2015 Marijuana Business Factbook.