The issue focused mainly on an increase in the number of deaths that occurred in hospital in 2009, but also on the rise in the numbers in prison, where a third of all deaths were attributed solely to drugs and/or alcohol. The issue also addressed the role drugs play in the criminal justice system with recommendations such as reducing sentences for drug crime and reducing jail populations. The bill would require the state to spend no more money on jails than they are currently spending on prison.

"We are in the process of