Series: Meth: Shattering Lives In Northern Nevada

A three-month Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found that
methamphetamine's grip on the Truckee Meadows has become a stranglehold.

HE'S BEEN THERE; NOW EX-ADDICT HELPS THOSE STILL OUT THERE

If anyone knows anything about regaining his life after decades of
drug addiction and run-ins with the law, it's Mike Moran.

He has experienced a lot from the time he took his first hit of
methamphetamine at 25 to when he was a 40-year-old sitting in the
Washoe County Jail for stealing money from his employer to feed his meth habit.

Moran now helps defendants in Washoe County's drug and diversion
courts find jobs and develop life skills. Court officials say that
more than 80 percent of its roughly 800 defendants are meth addicts.

Drug court is an option typically for first-time drug offenders who
have committed crimes because of their addiction. Meth users have a
longer stay in the program -- about 18 months compared to about one
year -- because of its highly addictive nature. Defendants are
supervised by the court and must remain drug free, take drug tests,
attend counseling sessions, get a job and find a place to live.

Moran heads employment development for the court's Project C.A.R.E.
program that began in 2001. He's been drug-free for the past six
years and has testified in front of the Nevada Legislature on drug
treatment issues.

"There are a lot of opportunities in life," the 46-year-old said. "I
blew mine because I wanted to get high. My addiction got in the way
of my success. I can't blame the police or my boss.

"Drug court ended 32 years of drug and criminal thinking," he said.
"And now I want to give back and help. My main goal is to keep
clients off drugs and to keep them from going to jail because of drugs."

Project CARE also offers financial counseling and ensures defendants
make payments on their court fees. It also helps defendants obtain
identification, birth certificates and Social Security cards.

"That's a major thing for a lot of people who first come in the
program," Moran said, adding it's difficult for people to get those
items on their own when they have "burned every bridge."

He said the program is a one-stop shop for clients trying to get
their lives together after a criminal drug-related felony arrest.

Not hard to find a job

The program helps between 300 and 400 clients per year.

Drug court clients are required to have employment. Moran said Reno
is a booming area for employment and employers are willing to hire ex-felons.

"The biggest thing I see is that clients have a preconceived notion
that no one will hire them," he said, "and they exude that attitude
when they're on the interview."

He helps people find jobs who have not worked in years. They may get
menial jobs, but it's the only honest money they've earned in a long
time, he said.

"I was working full-time and I still got evicted, lost my car, had my
power turned off," Moran said of his addiction. "It's fun to see
these guys get out from their slavery of addiction. They have money
in their wallet and can afford to buy cigarettes. Others may say they
won't work for just $7 or $8 an hour, but that has more to do with
not wanting to work."

Moran also helps with resumes, arranges transportation for clients
trying to find work and even will call them to make sure they are
getting up in the morning to go to a job interview. The first year of
sobriety can be a very good one, Moran said.

"You feed off those good things," he said. "Paying bills were a joy
because I never did it before. I bought a new truck."

Up from a downward spiral

Moran grew up in Northern California, began drinking at 9 and using
marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms in high school. He then
began to sell drugs and dropped out of school. He started using meth
when he was 25, partly because it was so available.

"I was a full-blown addict and was known to police as a drug-using
person," he said.

Moran also gave drugs to his nephew, who later died in a car crash
after he had been awake for days following a drug binge, Moran said.

When Moran was arrested six years ago for embezzling money from his
employer, he realized in jail his life had to get better.

"You reach a point where you are out of control," he said. "I didn't
just get arrested, I got rescued. Something just clicked that I
needed a better life."

In 1999 he entered drug court and graduated the following year.

"Giving up drugs is the first step," he said. "True recovery is
changing everything in your life. It's sad when all your life you've
been a slave to addiction.

"I realized what was finally around me, like birds and plants," he
said. "I was standing outside of drug court one day and the sun hit
me. I hadn't been aware of that feeling. Kids were chasing a
butterfly .. I pictured myself as awakening from a coma and being reborn."