Hocking College Becomes an Ohio Medical Marijuana Testing Facility

Hocking College is the first higher education institution to step up and become a research lab and testing facility for Ohio’s medical marijuana program. Hocking College is in Nelsonville. Going above and beyond, the college will also develop and implement specific science curriculum to teach medical lab technician, forensics, and chemical lab science.

Hocking College must ensure that the lab services provided are giving Ohio medical marijuana patients safe medicine, according to The Herald-Dispatch. The director of the testing lab will be Jonathan Cachat. He will work with Hocking College to develop the necessary new curriculum.

Betty Young, Hocking College president, said, “The decision to lead this medical cannabis lab effort was not based on the merits or lack of merits regarding cannabis. The state legislators made a decision on the subject. Our goal is to partner with the state of Ohio to fulfill the legislative mandate contained in House Bill 523 that specifically requires an institute of higher education serve as a lab testing site.”

Hocking College is known for providing high-tech training, and this new venture is aligned with that. There will be over a dozen new jobs available. The lab equipment cost will be funded by Hocking College as well as the renovation for the new operations and the operations themselves.