Locking up a swelling cadre of methamphetamine users and dealers has given Georgia the fastest-growing prison population in the U.S., according to state prison officials.

The Moultrie Observer reported Oct. 23 that Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner James Donald said that the prison system is now operating at 105 percent of capacity. "We know exactly where our population is coming from," he said. "We've taken in 250 to 300 meth-related criminals each month, almost 3,000 a year. Ninety-seven percent of them are white, by the way ... That's really crowding us in our jails."

Donald added that 80 percent of convicted felons entering the state's prisons were either selling, using, or high on meth when they committed their crimes.

Officials said the prison population is getting younger, and that prisoners have little work ethic and could benefit from reentry programs and faith-based interventions.