HALIFAX -- Another inmate has died from a drug overdose in Nova Scotia's largest jail, making it the second case in two years of a prisoner dying after taking prescription drugs obtained in the facility.

The Justice Department says an internal review determined the 38-year-old inmate died on Nov. 7, 2016, six days after he "consumed prescription drugs gained from another offender."

The man was admitted to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Halifax on June 21 last year as he awaited trial.

A statement says he was found unresponsive in his cell on Nov. 2 and that first aid was administered until paramedics took over, but that he died in hospital five days later.

Sean Kelly, the director of Correctional Services, said he can't say what drugs were involved because the Personal Health Information Act prevents access confidential medical records.

However, he does confirm that at least some of the drugs involved came from another inmate.

"What I don't know is, and this is the difficult part to comment on, that he likely was taking prescription medications of his own. For instance, he would have been prescribed medications and I'm not aware of what those medications were. I'm aware he did receive medications from other offenders and there may have been medication diverted of his own," Kelly said.

He said diversion, where an inmate hides pills under their tongue, or later regurgitates them, is a real problem and often hard to detect.

"To address that possible issue we're meeting with the health authority and looking at strengthening our medication distribution procedures to make it more difficult to divert medication," he said.

The Justice Department says corrections officials will meet with the Nova Scotia Health Authority -- which oversees the prescription drug dispensary at the jail -- to discuss ways to improve its procedures.

The province is currently facing a lawsuit in the death of 23-year-old Clayton Cromwell on April 7, 2015, who the medical examiner said died from a methadone overdose.

While Kelly wouldn't discuss the Cromwell case while it's before the courts, he said they have implemented a number of changes in recent years to address the issue of drugs coming into facilities.

"Despite our best efforts sometimes, drugs do come into the facilities from a variety of different sources. It is something we are constantly reviewing," he said.

But Devin Maxwell, the lawyer for Cromwell's family, said it appears there are serious issues with the province's ability to protect inmates from harm.

"It demonstrates that there are some serious issues with the corrections system in the province generally and that facility in particular," he said Wednesday.

He said a big issue is understaffing.

"That prison is overcrowded, understaffed; the staff is incapable of supervising the inmates at that facility," Maxwell said.

Kelly said Correctional Services will try to be as transparent as possible with the outcome of their review of the latest case.

He said while changes to security protocols would not be released, any information that can be shared would be made public.