The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was recognized at The International Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference in Denver with the 2009 Vollmer Excellence in Forensic Science Award this week. The award is for the success of the marijuana training program developed by the GBI’s Chemistry Section. 

The GBI has trained and certified more than 1,600 police officers in Georgia to test marijuana seized.

The program allows officers to test the drug locally without having to send it to the crime lab.

Because of this program, marijuana cases move through the court system more rapidly than other controlled substance case. The GBI laboratory has seen a 98 percent reduction of marijuana cases tested.

Coosa Valley News