Article provided by the law office of LoConto, Burke & Madaio, P.C.

In the five years between 2002 and 2007, 3,265 people in Massachusetts died from drug-related causes. That's more than the number of Massachusetts soldiers killed in both Afghanistan and Iraq, combined.

And things aren't getting better. Some are even calling it an epidemic.

The startling numbers above were released by the Massachusetts OxyContin and Heroin Commission in early November of this year and paint a grim picture. As its name signifies, the commission was specially created to reach some conclusion in Massachusetts' growing drug problem.

The answers they found weren't very positive.

They found drug abuse to be wide spread, unconfined to any particular class or type of individual, and jumping across racial and income lines. Quite literally, anyone could be addicted. This is one of the issues making the problem a hard one to solve.

That doesn't mean Massachusetts isn't trying. As part of the commission's report, members presented a list of 20 recommendations, including:

• An increased and strengthened prescription-monitoring program, with better information flow. This would allow officials to recognize instances where prescriptions are abused, or too many prescriptions are being written.
• The creation of substance abuse diversion programs, allowing addicts to enter rehab instead of prison.
• Limitation of criminal sanctions against drug addicts who seek out medical help.

Perhaps somewhat ironically, this report came out around the same time the state legislature passed a bill granting parole eligibility to nonviolent drug offenders.

The law, as it stands now, applies a blanket, minimum sentence to nonviolent drug offenders. Once a sentence has been served, the offender is released back into society.

The bill was backed by The Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) and would be available to drug offenders serving their mandatory minimum sentences. Earlier in the year, the MBA's Drug Policy Task Force released a report calling for drug sentencing reform.

The report cited high costs associated with keeping offenders in prison and speculated that, by offering parole, the state could save millions in expenditures. The MBA also hopes that, by allowing offenders to be paroled or released into work programs, the state will see less repeat offenders.

The bill is currently in the Massachusetts' House, but will have to wait until January to learn its fate, as formal legislative sessions have ended for 2009.