The hunt for one of 14 licenses to operate a medical cannabis pharmacy in Utah is over.

State health officials on Friday announced the 10 companies that are on track for permission to operate the retail locations, more than half of them strung along the Wasatch Front.

Three cannabis retailers are proposed for Salt Lake City, with others slated for Provo, Park City, Ogden and West Bountiful, the Utah Department of Health announced. The agency sorted through more than 130 applications submitted by about 60 companies, winnowing the list down to the handful of businesses now slated to win licenses.

“We feel like that was a good thing for the state of Utah that there was so much competition,” said Richard Oborn, who directs the Center for Medical Cannabis at the state Health Department. “We feel like we’ve got a good set of applicants that come to us with a lot of confidence in what they’re doing and a lot of knowledge and expertise.”

Desiree Hennessy, executive director of the Utah Patients Coalition, said the launch of the state’s full-fledged medical cannabis program finally feels close with the announcement of the pharmacy operators. [Read more at The Salt Lake Tribune]