A new laboratory is opening in southeast Alabama where the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences will conduct testing and help combat opioids and other drugs in the region.
The Alabama House passed a state operating budget that allowed $5.3 million for the project, according to the Dothan Eagle.
The city of Dothan used to have a state forensics laboratory, but it closed over a decade ago. The agency plans to build a new one that would make it easier and faster for law enforcement to have tests conducted.
Right now, police agencies have to send evidence to a facility in Montgomery or Auburn for analysis.
