Scott Atkinson reports for WWNY that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill Oct. 7 to provide drug treatment for addicts in prison. “Why wouldn’t we take advantage of that opportunity, to invest in people, give them something as simple as medication to help them deal with their illness while they’re incarcerated, just like we’d make sure they have their diabetes drugs or their cancer drugs,” Hochul said. “What we’re trying to do is remove barriers to treatment.” Lewis County Sheriff Mike Carpinelli is running for governor as a Republican, and denounced the new law. “I’m upset by it. I think it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money, and I think it’s gonna bring more problems to all our jails across the state,” he said. "It’s the state’s twisted way of trying to ensure more votes from the left side and, you know, pandering to that... There’s not one minute that I think it’s truly in their heart that they care about the person.” In all, Hochul signed five bills Oct. 7 to address the opioid problem in the state, including making it easier to find and possess overdose-treating drugs such as Narcan, and a law which expands the number of crimes that can be referred for drug treatment. Read more about this story at the WWNY website.