Nine cannabis testing lab applicants announced at the start of 2018.
As we announced in a previous post the first cannabis grow in the state of Ohio just broke ground on their cultivation site. Now the Ohio Department of Commerce has released information regarding who will be testing the medical cannabis that their cultivators will be growing. According to The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program, nine business entities have put in for testing lab licenses. Among the applicants were two public colleges, Central State University in Wilberforce and Hocking Technical College in Nelsonville.
The Ohio Department of Commerce accepted licenses from public universities in September from the 11th to the 22nd. They then opened the door for privately-owned testing labs from from November 27 to December 8, 2017. The Department have not set a limit for the amount of testing lab licenses that they can grant in the state. Before these licenses were granted the Department was lobbied by the Battelle Memorial Institute to give private entities the chance test cannabis in the state. The Columbus-based Institute now stands beside out-of-state private groups who are currently waiting to see who will receive testing licenses.
Following the initial groundbreaking on the first Ohio cannabis cultivation a total of 24 legal sites have popped up throughout the state by November 2017. The licenses for these sites were carved out of a whopping 185 applicants Each cultivation is separated into either a Level I and Level II grow site. Level I grow sites can expand up to 25,000 square feet and Level II can be up to 3000 square feet. Most of the cultivator licenses were awarded for sites in Northeast Ohio. Most of the 24 applicants had out of state investors or help in the licensing process.
Despite any recent shake ups from the federal government there are no signs of stopping in Ohio regarding legalizing medical cannabis. Like many of the other states with legal cannabis, business has continued as usual.
