State receives first application from college willing to test medical marijuana

Hocking College this week became the first college or university in Ohio to apply to test medical marijuana in Ohio (Source: “Major roadblock to medical marijuana in Ohio solved? College steps up to test cannabis,” Newark Advocate, Sept. 5, 2017).

Without a public college or university to test medical marijuana, the state would have delayed its sale. Other states allow private laboratories to test marijuana's properties before it is sold, but Ohio's law put a one-year moratorium on private testers in favor of colleges. Many public universities worried they would lose money from a federal government that still labels marijuana as among the most dangerous, illegal drugs. 

Hocking College, a 3,000-student technical college in southeast Ohio, plans to create a curriculum around the testing process and is setting up an endowment to pay for laboratory renovation and equipment. 

Hocking College is the only applicant that has publicized its bid to test medical marijuana in Ohio. Universities and colleges have until Sept. 22 to apply with the Ohio Department of Commerce. Each applicant must pay a $2,000 fee. If selected, each university will pay a $18,000 fee to operate its testing lab.