Ohio to start accepting schools’ medical MJ testing applications

Colleges and universities in Ohio can soon apply for medical marijuana testing licenses, but private companies must wait another year to apply.

That situation could prove problematic for the state’s MMJ program.

It’s still an open question whether Ohio colleges or universities will even apply for the licenses.

Even though state law is structured to give the institutions first crack at the licenses for the first year of the program, the schools could potentially jeopardize their federal funding because marijuana remains illegal in the United States.

The Ohio Department of Commerce will accept schools’ applications to test medical marijuana from Sept. 11 to Sept. 22, Columbus Business First reported.

The nonrefundable application fee is $2,000, and license winners then must pay a $20,000 annual renewal fee, according to the publication. There are no limits on the number of testing licenses the state will hand out.

Because Ohio’s medical marijuana program must be up and running by September 2018, the timing may be right for private testing labs to enter the market once it’s online.