Maui Wellness Group LLC spokeswoman Teri Freitas Gorman says the business is in its final phase of permitting and will begin cultivating as soon as it receives final approval by the state Department of Health. Pictured: Cannabis plants grow in the backyard of a Hawaii medical marijuana cardholder in Honolulu in February 2016. (Marina Riker, Associated Press file)

Hawaii medical marijuana dispensary prepares to open in Maui early 2017

WAILUKU, Hawaii — One of the state’s eight licensed medical marijuana dispensaries says it plans to begin selling its products by early next year.

The Maui News reports Maui Wellness Group LLC spokeswoman Teri Freitas Gorman says the business is in its final phase of permitting and will begin cultivating as soon as it receives final approval by the state Department of Health. She says she’s not sure when that will happen.

The business has 11 employees but plans to have as many as 30 when cultivation begins to handle processing, packaging, selling and security.

The group will grow marijuana on about 7 acres of privately owned agricultural land in central Maui.

The state’s eight licensed dispensaries have been able to open for business since July but none have made the move.

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Information from: The Maui News