STATE CHOOSES POT DISPENSARIES, BRUNSWICK LOCATION NOT PICKED

BRUNSWICK - A Maine Department of Health and Human Services panel
announced today it has chosen applicants to operate medical marijuana
dispensaries in six of the state's eight public health districts,
according to a department announcement.

The selections were made by a four-person department panel after
scoring the applications using several criteria. Division of
Licensing and Regulatory Services officials say it will still likely
be as long as four months before any of the chosen dispensaries are
open for business.

"I appreciate the many hours that the panel and our licensing staff
have dedicated to this work and to adhering to this aggressive time
schedule," said DHHS commissioner Brenda Harvey in a statement.

Among the original 27 applications submitted for consideration was
one from a group that listed its headquarters as being at 4 Turner
St. in Brunswick. The Brunswick-based group, called Primary Organic
Therapy, was not chosen to open a dispensary in District 2, which
covers Cumberland County.

The District 2 choice was Northeast Patients Group, which proposes a
dispensary for 959 Congress St. in Portland. Northeast Patients Group
was also the state's pick to run the marijuana stores in Districts 4,
5 and 6, with locations proposed for Thomaston, Waterville or
Augusta, and Hermon, respectively.

District 4 includes Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties.

In District 3, the department's four-person panel of advisors chose
Remedy Compassion Center of East Wilton, and for District 8, the pick
was Safe Alternatives of Fort Kent.

The department did not announce selections for Districts 1 and 7,
saying no applications from those two districts met the minimum score
of 70, tallied using criteria such as the quality of the applicant's
long-term business plan, record-keeping, convenience of location,
patient education, inventory and quality control.

"We plan to re-open the application process in these districts as
quickly as possible," said Cathy Cobb, director of the Division of
Licensing and Regulatory Services, in a statement today. "Those who
were not selected can make changes to their plans and re-apply."

Primary Organic Therapy also submitted an application for District 1,
proposing a spot at 139 State Road in Kittery, the address listed for
the group's chief executive, Derek Brock.

The Friday announcement is the culmination of eight months of work
since Maine voters last November legalized marijuana dispensaries in
a statewide referendum.

The list of chosen dispensaries is as follows:

- - District 2 (Cumberland County): Northeast Patients Group, for a
location at 959 Congress St. in Portland.

- - District 3 (Franklin, Oxford and Androscoggin counties): Remedy
Compassion Center, for a location at 932 Route 2 in East Wilton.

- - District 4 (Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties): Northeast
Patients Group, for a location at 153 New County Road in Thomaston.

- - District 5 (Somerset and Kennebec counties): Northeast Patients
Group, for a location at either 13 Water St. in Waterville or 10
Middle Road in Augusta.

- - District 6 (Piscataquis and Penobscot counties): Northeast Patients
Group, for a location at 601 Coldbrook Road in Hermon.

- - District 8 (Aroostook County): Safe Alternatives of Fort Kent, for
a location at 267 Main St. in Fort Kent.