dbryce@journalnet.com

POCATELLO - A second generation methamphetamine addict, inmate Justin Gonzales said his mother, a former addict, is his inspiration today.

His mother, Felicia Gonzales, is also a graduate of the Sheriff's Help And Recovery Environment and she's been clean for the past year.

Justin is charged with possession of meth and extortion and is incarcerated at the Bannock County Jail. He's in the SHARE program for the second time and said he wants a better life.

"Getting high, it stopped even being fun," he said. "When I got arrested, I was just done."

Following his mother's lead, Gonzales believes that he can also learn to live drug free.

"My mom was a drug addict longer than I've been alive," Gonzales said. "She was the worst of the worst and she tells me, 'If I can do it, you can do it.'"

Counselor Glenda Bellanca said having a substance addicted parent increases the risk of becoming a addict by 50 percent. Felicia Gonzales is one of several parents who either preceded or followed their child into the program.

During a morning session Friday, inmates learned more about the medical aspects of addiction and the long-term affect on the body.

Justin, 25, said since getting clean, he has joint pain and muscle weakness and often feels disconnected.

"I don't know, everything seems kind of dull, kind of numb," he said.

Paul Thompson, a researcher at the University of California said studies indicate that long-term methamphetamine use permanently damages the limbic system - the portion of the brain that controls emotions, moods and cravings.

Bellanca said long-term meth use can also cause permanent psychosis including paranoia and many former addicts report a decreased sense of reasoning.

Inmate John Gregan said going to jail didn't interrupt his desire to use.

Gregan, 44, said his children learned abut his addiction when he called on them to post bond.

He said the realization of the lifestyle he was living and recognizing the damage his drug use had caused, including the break up of his marriage, was a turning point in his life.

"When I first got here, all I could think about was getting high," he said. "Now, all I want to do is stay sober."

Inmate Amador Luna said he switched from drugs to alcohol to avoid further contact with the law. But his alcohol use escalated quickly and he could be on his way back to prison.

Luna is charged with felony joy-riding - he was in an alcohol induced blackout and has little recollection of the incident.

"If I don't get sober right now, I'm going to end up back in prison," Luna said.

Inmate Nick Adderman started drinking and experimenting with drugs at the age of 12.

"I stopped growing emotionally," Adderman said. "My family background was institutions. That's who raised me."

Originally from Salt Lake City, Adderman said he went on a drug spree and committed a number of crimes along the way - he is charged in three counties.

Inmate Nick Collins, 28, served eight years in prison for manufacturing methamphetamine. He's currently charged with conspiracy to deliver more than 500 grams of meth and is looking at a minimum of

16 years in federal prison.

"I've worked my way through the justice system," Collins said. "By the time I was 20, I was in prison."

Collins described his family background as "middle-class."

He started smoking marijuana when he was 11 and by the time he was 15, he was addicted to meth.

Collins admits his past record is not good. While he has managed to stay clean for as long as five years, he said he never changed his attitude.

"I never changed everything about my life. I kept the same friends," he said. I've had lots of chances and I know this program does work if you let it."

Don Nunley was charged with burglary for stealing a $4 bottle of wine.

Nunley, 43, said his father was an alcoholic and following his dad's death, his own drinking increased.

He started as a binge drinker at the age of 15 and became a daily drinker about eight-years ago. Nunley also participated in an outpatient treatment program through Road to Recovery, a local treatment center.

"I've been floating, drinking just to get by," Nunley said.

Following four weeks of classroom time, the inmates will take part in an aftercare program aimed at helping them to identify early signs of relapse and holding them accountable for their recovery.

Collins said he believes it's never to late to change.

He plans to take advantage of programs offered through the federal correction system and concentrate on not making the same old mistakes.

"I don't think people should give up on me," Collins said. "God made me and God doesn't make junk."

Between October 2006 and September 2007, 175 inmates participated in the SHARE program, 111 of them attended an aftercare program. Of the 62 inmates who took part in aftercare, 62 percent completed it successfully. Nineteen of the 25 participants who committed a new crime either failed or did not participate in aftercare, Bellanca said.