WIFE PLANS FRESH START WHILE MAN IN PRISON

"Your Mind Is Not Your Own," After Use, Recovering Addict Says

WASHINGTON — By the time police arrested Jody Gentry for cooking meth, he
hadn't eaten for almost two weeks and hadn't slept for days. "It took over
my life and there was nothing that I could do about it," he said of his
11-year meth habit. "You can take this one time and you are totally addicted."

Gentry's addiction began in 1989 on a construction site in Springfield,
where he operated heavy equipment. He began using meth to improve his
alertness on the job.

By the time he was arrested in 2000, Gentry had stopped snorting meth and
was injecting it into his arm. His meth intake had increased from about 3.5
grams over several days to 22 grams over 2 1/2 days. He would cook a batch,
take half himself and sell the other half.

Gentry, 36, quit his construction job and left the mobile home where he and
his wife, Lori, lived in Reeds Spring. His new home became a 1993 Geo Storm
his wife had given him.

Gentry traveled the back roads of southwest Missouri every day, looking for
a remote spot to set up his makeshift meth lab.

"Once you do meth, your mind is not your own,." he said,

Gentry ultimately gained a reputation as a go-to guy for other meth addicts.

"Everybody wanted me to make meth at their house," he said. "Everybody
wanted me to show up, but nobody wanted me to stay."

Gentry's wife stuck with him, but his luck eluding the police didn't.

He was arrested as he and a friend looked for a new place to cook meth.
Gentry was charged with possession and manufacturing meth, a felony.

Today, Gentry is recovering from his meth addiction, although he still
suffers from meth-related tooth decay and gum disease, a condition known as
"meth mouth."

While he was still in jail after his 2000 arrest, his wife planned a fresh
start. As a first step, she razed the couple's mobile home, where Gentry
had kept his drug paraphernalia.

"I decided to bulldoze the house and build a new one," she said. "I sent
him the blueprints in jail and told him that he would be paying the bills
when he got out."