Groundbreaking ceremony held at Kentucky's first medical cultivation facility

Monticello Mayor Kenny Catron (right-middle) and other stakeholders. Photo credit: SPEDA

Cannabis

Groundbreaking ceremony held for Kentucky’s first medical cultivation facility

Its construction will cost US$25 million and it will employ up to 100 Kentuckians

Rowan Dunne

Published

1 day ago

Kentucky’s first medical marijuana cultivation complex to be erected from the soil up is now under construction in the city of Monticello.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday at the Centaurus Farms property. Local Mayor Kenny Catron was in attendance alongside other stakeholders like Office of Medical Cannabis director Sam Flynn.

Medical pot officially became legal in the state on Jan. 1. Prior to that milestone, Kentucky regulators held a business license lottery for prospective operators in the state’s infant medical sector.

“This is the first groundbreaking from that lottery,” said Governor Andy Beshear’s advisor, Rocky Adkins. “This is the first groundbreaking from that medical cannabis initiative, since the bill has been passed.”

Senate Bill 47 was authorized by Beshear in early 2023 before coming into force over a year and a half later. Since that time a total of 77 business licenses and 2,200 medical cannabis cards have been approved by Kentucky’s medical cannabis office.

Production is expected to get underway at the new facility early next year. Catron says that Monticello already had a reputation for cannabis prior to legalization.

“We were in High Times magazine a lot, but that was illegal-type marijuana, but never, you know, legal sales like this,” he told 88.9 WEKU.

The average salary for up to 100 cultivation employees will be about US$62,500 per annum with preliminary work starting by the end of Q4.

“This is a historic day for the City of Monticello, Wayne County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Adkins said. “We will remember this day for many years to come.”