COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVN)--Ohio's top law enforcement officer is assisting local agencies with testing for marijuana, following the legalization of hemp in the Buckeye State.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced his office will provide $50,000 for police and sheriff's departments to have access to equipment that tests for the difference between marijuana and hemp.
Yost says it would be available in cases where felony marijuana trafficking charges are pending.
The state currently has three different machines which have the capability of differentiating between marijuana and hemp, with marijuana having a higher level of THC.
He says more testing facilities will be up and running by the end of the year.
Following the passage and signing of Senate Bill 57, many local law enforcement agencies, including Columbus, have decided not to prosecute marijuana possession cases, because their departments do not have the proper technology to tell the difference between marijuana and hemp.