"GLORIA" SAYS SHE REALIZES HER MISTAKES THAT STEM FROM METH

She's in her 20s, she's been in the Cumberland County Justice Center
serving time for the past five months, she has an 8-year-old daughter who
only gets to visit her for a short time on Sundays. Her credit cards are
all maxed, she has no job waiting for her when she is eventually released,
and, her problems have created major financial difficulties for her
parents. She even admits to having had thoughts of ending her own life.

Prior to this young lady's exposure to methamphetamine she had a good
career ahead of her, her daughter was always on the A-honor roll, her
parents were, while not wealthy, very financially secure, and, she was free
to come and go as she pleased.

This girl, we'll call her Gloria, will freely sit down and discuss the
numerous painful problems that the use of the drug has caused her. She also
acknowledges that she has no one to blame but herself. Sure, she was
introduced to the menace by someone else, but, the decision to continue to
use was hers alone.

Gloria is not incarcerated because authorities caught her using the drug
once, or twice, or three times. She was able to post her own bond after
those first three arrests. Only after the fourth time was she required to
spend more than 24 hours behind bars. By this time she was broke and had no
source of funds to make bail. Now, she says that she feels the laws should
be stricter.

Through the first three encounters with the law her friends and family, as
well as her employer stood behind her. Finally, she had to tell them that
she had a terrible addiction problem that she was having trouble fighting.
She was on a waiting list to enter a rehabilitation clinic and had, in
fact, spent time in rehab and was clean for only 21 days.

Gloria had acquired the drug using cash as long as she had it and then used
her credit cards to purchase merchandise that she would trade for the
highly addictive product. Then, she started helping to produce the meth as
a trade-off for her own personal supply. She also cleaned one supplier's
home to acquire the drug. The one good decision that she made at this time
was to see that her child was never exposed to the drug's manufacture.

Her addiction was so strong that she gave her daughter up to the care of
her parents so she could spend her time using meth and with others who did.
She says that some of the conversations with her daughter are about the
drug and tears come to her eyes when she recalls her youngster asking,
"Mommy, why did you choose the drug over me?" She knows that her child has
spent countless hours crying and the 8-year-old has told her mother that
she must stay away from those drug people when she is released.

Gloria says she realizes her mistakes. She has been very cooperative during
her imprisonment by talking with the public during some of the educational
seminars presented by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department,
Cumberland Medical Center and the Cumberland County Neighborhood Watch
Program. Her part of that presentation often elicits tears from many in the
audience. Gloria says that she was unaware of the dangerous chemicals that
go into the production of the drug, and, if she had known what all was
used, she probably wouldn't have used meth in the first place. She is
currently suffering some physical problems due to her bout with the drug.

Still, she speaks of the strong addictive powers of meth, and she realizes
that her life after her release will not be easy. She also realizes that
while her parents have stood behind her to this point, another encounter
with meth will not be tolerated. She expects to be released in
mid-September and is relishing the thought of spending more than just
weekly visitation periods with her daughter.

Have these few months of punishment been enough? Will the temporary
euphoria of the drug make her willing to risk losing her regained freedom
and her family? Will she take a chance on further damage to her body? Only
time and Gloria will provide answers to these questions. Many have tried to
break their addiction and very few have been successful.