Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services announced today that it received 19 applications from groups wanting to open medical marijuana dispensaries in York County and Downeast.

The state reopened the application process for those parts of the state after an initial round of applications did not meet minimum standards, officials said. The state has already awarded six licenses to nonprofit corporations that plan to open dispensaries in or near Portland, Augusta, Bangor, Auburn, Thomaston and Fort Kent.

While state officials said they received a total of 19 new applications, they released information about only 17. Of those, 10 are applications for the York County license and seven are applications for a license in District 7, which includes Washington and Hancock counties.

A panel of four people will review and score each application, based on a variety of criteria, including operating plans, convenience of location, prior business experience, patient education, record-keeping, inventory, quality control, security and staffing.

The groups selected for the two licenses will be announced by the end of the month.

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