Ohio is moving ahead with rules for growing, processing and selling medical marijuana, but the job of testing the product for public consumption remains up in the air.

The state law, which went into affect last September, requires an Ohio college or university to test marijuana for “potency, homogeneity and contamination” before it can be sent to dispensaries for sale. That phase is supposed to be in effect for a year prior to switching the job to private testing labs.

The problem is Ohio higher education institutions, including Ohio State University, are leery of getting involved because of potential conflict between state and federal laws regarding marijuana.

“Ohio State looks to engage as an appropriate partner while at the same time complying with federal, state and local laws,” Ohio State spokesman Ben Johnson said in a statement. “It is a challenging situation given that federal and state law are somewhat conflicted. At this time, Ohio State is not pursuing any avenues to engage in testing because of the federal limitations of marijuana as a controlled substance.”

It appears the state may skip the university step, however, and go directly to private testing. [Read more at The Columbus Dispatch]