HARTFORD — Connecticut plans to allow up to three more medical marijuana dispensaries, targeting New Haven and Fairfield counties, where there are the most registered patients and the fewest licensed sellers.

The decision to add to the state’s six dispensaries comes nine months after the first medical marijuana sales by a fledgling industry in Connecticut in which both growers and dispensaries are still in a struggle to break even.

The Department of Consumer Protection announced Thursday that it would seek proposals for the new dispensaries because there has been “significant growth” in patient registration, especially this spring.

The medical marijuana program had 4,097 registered patients as of June 5, up from 3,600 in April and 2,300 in September, according to state officials. [Read more at The Hartford Courant]