PROVIDENCE, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear joined Hopkins County leaders Tuesday for a ribbon-cutting at Slaughter Branch LLC, marking the opening of the first Tier 1 medical cannabis cultivator in western Kentucky.
What You Need To Know
Gov. Andy Beshear attended the ribbon-cutting at Slaughter Branch LLC in Providence, Kentucky
Slaughter Branch LLC is the first Tier 1 medical cannabis cultivator in western Kentucky
The facility highlights local roots and a craft-style approach to cannabis cultivation
Kentucky continues expanding its medical cannabis program while addressing high prices
State officials said increased supply from facilities like Slaughter Branch is expected to help bring prices down.
The facility, located at 12631 Nebo Road in Providence, is owned by Chester Thomas, a former coal miner who once operated mines on the same property. He emphasized the project’s strong local ties.
“Yeah, we’re going to help a lot of people,” Thomas said. “We spent a lot of money, and most, sixty-plus percent, of the funds that we spent here were spent here in western Kentucky.”
Carson Thomas, the owner’s nephew and special projects manager, led tours of the facility following the ribbon-cutting. Visitors wore full protective equipment to maintain the sterile growing environment.
“We’re trying to grow the best quality cannabis in the state of Kentucky. Bar none,” Carson Thomas said. “That’s the goal. We want to provide the cleanest and best product to help Kentuckians who need it.”
The Tier 1 cultivator license is the smallest category, limited to 2,500 square feet of canopy. The company is focusing on a craft-style model that prioritizes quality over large-scale production. The first harvest is expected within eight to nine days, with products reaching dispensaries by mid-to-late June after testing.
Beshear, who signed medical cannabis into law in 2023, used the event to highlight the program’s growth and impact on patients.
“As attorney general, I saw the devastation of opioids and what it did to this Commonwealth,” Beshear said. “I saw a veteran who was on 20 different prescription painkillers, suicidal, couldn’t hold a job. Yet when he secured medical cannabis, he rebuilt his relationship with his family, held down a job, and was down to one prescription medication.”
According to Beshear, nearly 21,000 Kentuckians now hold medical cannabis cards. The state currently has nine licensed cultivators in operation, with more expected soon.
“Supply is coming online. When the first crop comes out of here, you will see prices decrease because there is one more cultivator on the market,” Beshear said. “We still don’t have the full amount of product needed to meet the demand. And because we don’t have enough, the prices are still a little too high in some places.”
Beshear described Kentucky’s rollout as one of the fastest in the country and structured to avoid successful court challenges. Hopkins County Fiscal Court Representative Billy Parrish said the project reflects changing attitudes in the community.
“Anything that’s grown naturally, to me, would be better put in your body than something that might be synthetic to relieve pain,” Parrish said.
The ceremony followed the opening of two additional cultivators elsewhere in the state on April 20.
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