Low demand has Oglesby marijuana cultivation center sputtering

Remember when cities across the Illinois Valley competed heavily to be the spot where medical marijuana is grown? At least so far there isn’t a whole lot of demand for the product.

According to the NewsTribune, Oglesby Mayor Don Finley says one marijuana plant is being grown at the large cultivation center near Love’s Travel Stop. He says that plant is just to meet state regulations and will eventually have to be destroyed because there aren’t enough patients needing it.

The state has said over 3,000 medical marijuana patients have been approved. Oglesby got one of 18 permits for cultivation centers across the state.

Green Thumb Industries built the expansive marijuana growing warehouse west of Interstate 39. They spent more than $2 million in building permits and predicted that the demand could get high enough to hire 100 workers.