There is a new tool in the ongoing war on drugs and it comes from a forensic scientist at the University of New Haven. There is a new tool in the ongoing war on drugs and it comes from a forensic scientist at the University of New Haven.

Heather Miller Coyle, an associate professor in the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, is setting up a national databank that will allow law enforcement to track marijuana DNA.

Most people probably didn't even know marijuana had DNA, but Coyle, who specializes in forensic botany, has developed a new method for collecting the drug's genetic fingerprint, making it easy for officers to collect the samples at crime scenes.

"Plant DNA is like the DNA found in humans - it retains its lifelong genetic profile," says Coyle. "If one person has a suitcase of marijuana and another person has bags of it, we will be able to tell if it came from the same batch," she said in a news release.

The DNA databank will be similar to one the FBI runs human DNA, the Combined DNA Index System or CODIS.

CODIS allows DNA samples from crime scenes to be compared against a computerized database to help identify suspects.

The marijuana version will help law enforcement track where the drug came from and link it to criminal drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, growers in Canada or gangs in the U.S.

Coyle's project has been funded with more than $100,000 from the National Marijuana Initiative and the National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program.