HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut task force has recommended against creating special state courts to serve people addicted to opioids, citing successful drug treatment programs already in place and the high cost of establishing such new courts.

The panel of state criminal justice officials on Wednesday released its final report to the legislature's Judiciary Committee.

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The task force was created under legislation approved by lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy during the 2018 legislative session amid the nation's opioid overdose crisis. More than 1,000 people in Connecticut died from accidental drug overdoses in 2017, and 2018's total is expected to be about the same.

The panel touted a program running in several state courts that helps people charged with nonviolent drug crimes obtain addiction treatment, medication, housing and other needs.

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