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Syracuse, N.Y. -- Medical marijuana dispensaries may be coming to Utica and Rochester.

A company that has applied to the state for a medical marijuana license announced today it will open dispensaries in those cities as well as Newburgh and Brooklyn if it gets a license.

PalliaTech, a Long Island based company, said the four proposed dispensaries will provide access to medical marijuana for patients who live in 52 of the state's 62 counties.

PalliaTech recently announced plans to grow marijuana in a former Pfizer plant in Chazy, a town in Northern New York eight miles from the Canadian border. It is one of many companies vying for licenses to participate in the state's medical marijuana program. The state will issue five licenses. In addition to growing marijuana, each licensee will be able to open four dispensaries.

PalliaTech's proposed Oneida County dispensary will be in a 2,500 square-foot-building on Leland Avenue in North Utica. The site is visible from the state Thruway. The Rochester location is at 215 Alexander St., in a commercial corridor connecting the city's Park Avenue and East End neighborhoods.

The company said each dispensary will be managed by a licensed pharmacist and be staffed by about 15 employees.

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