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Downstate Company Seeking Rochester Medical Marijuana Operation

New York State is planning to issue five medical marijuana licenses, but there's a crowded field of companies vying for a chance to grow and dispense it.

Valley Agriceuticals, based downstate, wants to open one of its Origin Health Centers at Clinton Crossings in Brighton.

Company President Erik Holling says his company is here to improve patient care through the use of medical treatment, including cannabis, and really change the way it's done.

He says they combine first-class surroundings with state-of-the-art security.

"What we love is what New York has done so far in creating the tightest regulations in the nation. We find that that's the right thing to do at this juncture. It really, excuse the pun, weeds out all the other people that will doing it the wrong way"

As for a recent report from the Journal of the American Medical Association that casts doubts on the effectiveness of medical marijuana, Holling says more research still needs to be done outside the limited research allowed by the federal government.

Over 40 companies have applied for the five licenses the state Department of Health is expected to issue -- possibly this month.