Crime, sex, and drugs, but the only rock 'n' roll in these women's lives is the time they've wasted going in and out of the corrections system in Maine, all because of their addiction to drugs.

"Most of them never start out intending to become addicts and criminals," states Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty.

Sheriff Liberty oversees a drug rehabilitation program inside the jail and it's showing great success in dropping the county jail's recidivism rate, not to mention the fact it's saving lives and potentially breaking a terrible cycle of family dysfunction and substance abuse in Maine.

Treatment providers will tell you, and well intended lawmakers should understand, that when it comes to any addiction, the individual needs to want to change behaviors. The old adage stands true with drug and alcohol addition, "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink."

The Criminogenic Addictions and Recovery Academy is a voluntary program and requires a screening to asses criminal thinking and co-occurring disorders.

Inmates Allison Richards and Christin Murphy come from completely different backgrounds and upbringings, yet both young women are united today in their desire to clean up their lives.

One young woman struggled in a home where parents themselves were allegedly addicted and the other from a supportive, and relatively intact family. Each of them has unique motivations and goals to become drug free.

Richards, a mother of five daughters under the age of 18, wants to spare her children from the same lifestyle drugs pushed her into, and to become a decent mother. Murphy looks forward to being able to repay her supportive family by turning her life around and eventually opening a restaurant because she loves to cook.

The CARA program at the Kennebec County Jail is open for referrals from any corrections facility in the state.

As Maine grapples with drug addiction, and where to best spend limited resources in the 'war', the CARA program is where law enforcement meets treatment.

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