We've all heard how bad a methamphetamine addiction can be, how quickly it addicts, and how devastatingly difficult it can be to overcome. Few people probably know the nightmare that is a meth addiction better than John Acerra, the 50-year-old former Bethlehem, PA, middle school principal recently sentenced to prison for using and selling crystal meth in his office at school. Unfortunately for Acerra, a meth addiction does more than drive users to make very bad decisions, it is one of the most difficult addictions to treat with drug rehab.



Acerra was arrested in February after police received a tip he was selling methamphetamine. An undercover informant wearing a "wire" was sent in with marked money and after Acerra sold him $200 worth of meth in the school principal's office, the cops crashed in and took him away. The Bethlehem school board later said there was no indication Acerra sold drugs to students, but they hired a law firm to investigate how Acerra was able to get away with his illegal activities and personal addiction problems undetected. How Acerra became involved with meth or whether he'd ever tried drug rehab in the past was not reported.

How far down can someone on crystal meth fall? When the police raided his office, Acerra was reportedly naked and watching gay porn on a computer with drugs and drug paraphernalia – and the cop's marked money – all over his desk. That's a long way to fall from a long, successful career as a respected educator. But only a long-term drug rehab program with plenty of follow-up to help prevent a relapse can overcome that kind of serious meth habit.

At his trial back in August, Acerra pleaded guilty to two counts of felony delivery of methamphetamine and one count of felony possession with intent to deliver. This week, at his sentencing, Acerra was sentenced to two to four years in state prison, followed by five years probation.

"Drug addiction had blinded me," Acerra told Judge Edward Platt at the sentencing. Commenting on what happened to his life as a result of his meth addiction, Acerra said he felt like the bridge that collapsed last summer in Minnesota. His goal now, he said, is to clean up his act and conquer his drug addiction. Hopefully, his prison will offer an opportunity to recover his personal health through a successful drug rehab program.