LANSING –Police officers in Michigan who perform field tests on suspected drugs can now use the results as evidence in preliminary hearings, a move that will reduce the burden on the crime lab system, a State Police official said.

A law sponsored by Rep. Paul Condino, D-Southfield, treats accurately performed field tests as reliable enough to establish that the substance is an illegal drug.

Controlled substances include heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.

Some police officers carry a kit to test suspicious substances during a search, said 1st Lt. Greg Zarotney of the State Police. If the test results are positive, an officer has grounds to make an arrest.

Zarotney said drug analysis field tests have proven 99 percent accurate.

The use of field test results at preliminary hearings would speed up court proceedings and allow judges and law enforcement agencies to use their resources more efficiently, supporters said.

Courts could save money, time and resources because fewer cases would go to trial, according to a House fiscal analysis.

Mark Hackel, the Macomb County sheriff, said the new law won’t change current police procedures.

However, criminal defense attorneys can still challenge the reliability of tests in court and question the officers’ knowledge, expertise and training, Hackel said.

Dan Bain, a criminal defense attorney in Novi, said he will still try to attack such evidence in his clients’ court hearings.

Suspected drugs are usually sent to one of seven State Police crime labs for further testing, Zarotney said.

Zarotney said it often takes six to nine months to get results back from the crime lab.