COLUMBUS – Central State University and Hocking College both applied to test medical marijuana in Ohio – potentially resolving longstanding fears that no public institution would take the risk.

Ohio put a one-year moratorium on private laboratories testing marijuana’s properties before it is sold. Other states allow private businesses to test marijuana because university officials are often wary of being testing a drug that the federal government still labels as among its most dangerous, illegal substances.

Many public universities worried they would lose money from a federal government if they participated. That led marijuana advocates to worry that no university would step up.

But as the deadline passed Friday, Ohio Department of Commerce had two applicants: Central State University in Wilberforce, southeast of Dayton, and Hocking College in southeast Ohio’s Athens County, commerce spokeswoman Stephanie Gostomski told The Enquirer.

Each applicant will be reviewed to ensure it meets the state’s requirements, including safety, waste removal and experience in analytical testing. The Ohio Department of Commerce then will rank the applicants based on their performance, but more than one site could be selected. [Read more at Cincinnati.com]