The number of inmates in California who've been prescribed psychiatric drugs has jumped about 25 percent in five years, according to a recent analysis of state data. These inmates now account for about a fifth of the county jail population across the state.

The increase might be a reflection of the growing number of inmates with mental illness, though it also might stem from improved identification of people in need of treatment, say researchers from California Health Policy Strategies, a Sacramento-based consulting firm.

The number of people with mental illness in jails and prisons in the U.S. is "astronomical," says Michael Romano, director of Three Strikes & Justice Advocacy Project at Stanford Law School, who was not involved in the research. "In many ways, the whole justice system is overwhelmed with mental illness."

"We think this is the first part of a more systematic discussion about what is going on in the jails and in the broader community with respect to mental health," says David Panush, a co-author of the report, which was funded in part by the California Health Care Foundation.

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