Jayne

Jayne is in her mid-fifties and started experimenting with drugs in the 1960s, when she was 12. Methamphetamine was her drug of choice. Before entering Proposition 36, she had never been to treatment and never thought she had a problem. On her third arrest for drug possession (the first two she got work project) she was the first person in Sacramento County to enter Prop. 36.

At first, Jayne struggled in treatment. In her mind, Prop 36 was like work project, something she had to complete to do on doing what she wanted to do--use drugs. Jayne dropped out of the Prop. 36 program and was arrested in Aburn, California. She entered Prop 36 for the second time. Through her meetings with her counselors, Jayne says she finally got honest with herself and told her counselors that she was having trouble and needed more help. She entered residential treatment on July 9th of 2002 and has been clean ever since.

“What really impressed me with Prop 36 was that they never said that they were going to send me to reprison," she says.

Jayne credits Prop. 36 with turning her life around and is dedicated to giving back to the program. The program was new when Jayne began and there were no graduates. Jayne became the alumni coordinator for Prop. 36 graduates, as she and others felt the need to lend support to people entering the program. Jayne coordinates alumni talks and support for sponsees who have now graduated from Prop 36.

When she walks around Sacramento, she sees Prop. 36 graduates everywhere she goes and know the program is working. Jayne warns that Prop. 36 does not always work the first time; it did not work the first time for her. The program changed her life in a fundamental way--it showed her another way of life from the one she had lived since she was twelve years old.

Jayne had a positive relationship with her son while he was growing up but lost touch with him as her addiction spiraled out of control. Before entering residential treatment she had not seen her granddaughter since she was born. Jayne spent a past weekend at her granddaughter’s 11th birthday party. She now spends a great deal of time with her and takes her on outings. Her son calls her regularly, something he never did before. Jayne has also reconciled her relationship with her own mother and now has a key to her house--a sign of trust she was never afforded before.

Jayne is now working full time as a registered nurse. She suspended her license while in treatment because you cannot be licensed as a nurse with a felony on your record. When she completed the Prop. 36 program the felony was wiped off her record and because of everything she has done with the program she was successful in petitioning to have her record expunged.