Connecticut Pharmaceutical Solutions LLC (CPS) and its affiliate, Connecticut Pharmaceutical Research Center LLC, are one of the 15 applicants vying to open one of the new medical marijuana operations scheduled to open in the state. CPS is one of the states four medical marijuana cultivating producers, which operates in Portland, but their hope is establishing a dispensary will help improve cannabis business development including research and treatment applications since it would allow them to work directly with patients, according to the Hartford Courant.

“Our interest in this enterprise has to do with research potential working with patients in the program,” said Thomas Schultz, president of the medical marijuana cultivating business. “What we’d really like to do is bring science closer to clinical application.”

Schultz, a cannabis consultant, believes having access to the people being treated would lead to an overall more effective product. It would also help their medical marijuana marketing efforts.

Connecticut, one of the 23 U.S. states that allow medical marijuana use, currently has six dispensaries and their plan is to increase that number to nine. New Haven and Fairfield are the counties they plan to locate the new shops due to the large number of registered medical marijuana patients and lack of current dispensaries. Together they combine to house 50% of the states registered medical marijuana patients but only two dispensaries, the Hartford Courant reports.

While the state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), which regulates the states program, has released the names of the applying businesses, they will not yet provide the exact locations they’ve proposed to set up shop.

“Just as was our practice during the past selection process for dispensary facilities and producers, to protect the integrity and fairness of the process, we will not release any further information until the review is complete,” said Claudette Carveth, a consumer protection spokeswoman.

Connecticut legalized the sale of medical marijuana business last year and has since tripled the number of registered patients. Not surprising considering 76% of doctors approve of medical marijuana use and 92% of patients say it really works. There were 5,357 registers as of August 27 and the DCP predicts that number will reach 6,000 by the end of the year.