The rising drug epidemic shows itself in many different ways.

It's evident in higher crime rates, an increase in the number of overdoses and drug-related deaths and even in prison overcrowding.A Times News report Tuesday discussed an overflow of inmates in Schuylkill County jail.There is so much overcrowding that officials have been forced to transfer 26 male inmates to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Delaware County, at a cost of $65 a day each, and women to the state Correctional Institution at Muncy, Lycoming County, at a cost of $60 a day each.If those inmates were able to stay in Schuylkill County, the cost would be $44.23 a day.Housing inmates isn't cheap.Sending them to out-of-county facilities exacerbates the issue.For instance, if those 26 male inmates are housed for, say, a period of one year, Schuylkill County is forced to fork out an extra $200,000.And it's not just male inmates. The jail has a strong contingent of female inmates as well.Last week, the jail housed 63 female inmates, up from 56 at the end of March.The overall population on Wednesday hit 292. Forty-six inmates were jailed three to a cell, including 10 women.The county is aware of a state Department of Corrections mandate to cut down on the number of inmates triple-celled.Prison has become big business.The total prison population in Schuylkill hit a peak oft 309 in March, according to Warden Eugene Berdanier.Many of those inmates are incarcerated on drug-related issues, and steps reportedly are being taken to address that problem.For example, the county is introducing a pre-release program that includes electronic monitoring and supervision.The county also intends to launch a special drug court with a predisposition toward treatment as opposed to jail.Make no mistake, these issues aren't unique to Schuylkill County.Prison overcrowding has been a prevalent problem nationwide.And illegal drugs and their related societal woes are everywhere.In fact, Pennsylvania leads the nation in drug overdose deaths among young adult men, according to the Trust for America's Health. The public health nonprofit examined federal statistics for 2011-13 filtered by age and sex.The study claims that, over the past decade, drugs have killed more than twice as many Americans as homicide.We live in trying times, and prison overcrowding is a symptom of a larger problem.Drug abuse is one of the most pressing issues facing society today.By Donald R. Serfass |

dserfass@tnonline.com