Marla Jones, Managing Editor

marla@southerntorchl.com

HENAGAR, Ala.-- A crowd of neatly 150 Henagar citizens gathered at a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday. The topic of discussion was the possible location of a medical cannabis processing plant coming to Henagar. 

The potential development comes after Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill in 2021 to establish the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. 

The Commission will consider applications beginning on September 1. Only five licenses to grow in the state of Alabama will be accepted. RX Connections President Troy King stated that they will be applying for an integrated license.

King, a former Alabama Attorney General, said that along with having many dear friends in the area, he picked Henagar as a potential site for a reason. 

“When we began looking for the perfect site, we gravitated towards North Alabama,” stated King.  “We gravitated toward an area that was hit hard by NAFTA (North Alabama Free Trade Agreement) and saw a lot of jobs leave and we came to explore the possibility, and I’ll be honest, we were greeted so warmly up here by everyone.”

The operation, if located in Henagar, will be a seed-to-sale location. They would grow, process, distribute and operate dispensaries. Workers would go through background checks and receive all necessary training to be successful. The goal of RX Connections is to hire employees from the area.

King stated that up to 200 jobs would be created with pay that would be starting at $15 per hour. Second Tier Managers would have a salary of $50 to $60K per year and Director Level Salary would range from $85 to $120K per year. The company would provide a full benefits package and advancement opportunities. 

The economic impact of the creation of 200 jobs would directly affect Henagar with $8,079,972 in compensation to workers, according to Jobs EQ. 

King along with his team welcomed comments and concerns from residents. Most of the concerns would be the potential smell from the facility and safety. 

Residents were assured that this facility would all be under a roof with a circulated air system. There would also be full-time security onsite. 

Another concern of the possible location near the Henagar Industrial Park would be the road conditions due to heavy traffic and large trucks. 

Mayor Lee Davis stated that the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) would provide grants for widening the streets and making them suitable for the traffic According to a spokesman for RX Connections, the largest vehicle that would be used after opening the plant would be carrier vans. 

This meeting was to address the concerns of citizens and open up the door of communications.  RX Connections will make an application in September for one of the five licenses.