THOMASTON — Wellness Connection of Maine, a nonprofit and the state's largest medical marijuana dispensary group, said July 7 that it will relocate its Thomaston dispensary and team to a new location on Centre Street in downtown Bath.

The Thomaston dispensary has been in operation since 2011 and serves more than 1,000 members on the Midcoast, according to a news release. Due to an increased demand for space, privacy and a more centralized location, WCM will move Thomaston operations to Bath late this summer, the release said.

Wellness Connection also has shops in Portland, Gardiner and Brewer.

All Thomaston patients accounts will be transferred to Bath, unless otherwise requested. The company said it plans to hire more employees at the new location in the coming months.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 2009 for patients suffering from a list of pre-approved medical conditions, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Crohn's disease. In 2013, PTSD was added to Maine's list of approved conditions.

Wellness Connection of Maine operates four dispensaries and one cultivation facility. Since opening five years ago, WCM's member base has quadrupled, the company said. The company also said it has created more than 80 permanent jobs across five Maine counties and hundreds of additional ancillary jobs.

Northeast Patients Group, or Wellness Connection, was established as a nonprofit in 2010, and in business by 2011. According to its website, it operates: "four of Maine's eight state-licensed, non-profit, medical cannabis dispensaries. We provide qualified Maine residents with an array of wellness-related services and the highest quality medical marijuana at reasonable cost to them; support patients’ full-spectrum wellness; and foster education about medical cannabis throughout the state."

If members cannot travel to either dispensaries locations, WCM will explore a delivery service for those patients, the nonprofit said.

The Bath location is under renovation and is expected to be completed by August.