Delbert Boone graduated from high school with honors at 16, then got a degree in biology from Central Michigan University.

"I was an All-American kid back in Detroit," he said.

He worked as a high school teacher and coach, a parole officer and a drug counselor. Though his life seemed on track, he got involved in drugs, starting with alcohol and ending up hooked to cocaine and heroin.

"Addiction takes you places you don't want to go," Boone said.

Addiction took Boone to prison, and he served four sentences in Kansas and Missouri state penitentiaries for various crimes.

While in prison, Boone decided to kick his drug habit. Using his own experiences and his observations of the inmates around him, Boone developed a drug abuse treatment program, parts of which are still used in Missouri, he said.

Since his parole from prison in 1982, Boone has continued working in various areas of the addiction counseling field. His videos on addiction have won national awards, and he speaks across the country on addiction issues. Boone, now an addiction consultant, will visit Bismarck next week to bring his messages on addiction to the community and the state penitentiary.

Boone did not get put in prison for drug offenses, but he attributes the actions that put him behind bars to his addictions. He was arrested for possession of stolen merchandise, then "jumped on police." Addiction is a progressive disease, he explained: "I didn't start out jumping on police."

Many people end up in prison not because of drug crimes, but because of crimes committed due to drug use, Boone said. His own record says nothing about drug use. But the drugs changed the way he thought - he felt he had the right to do whatever he wanted, and the world belonged to him.

"I know the mindset like the back of my hand,"he said.

The behaviors will remain the same once an inmate leaves prison if addiction problems aren't addressed, Boone contends.

"Without dealing with that business, you're bound to come back,"he said.

On Tuesday, Boone will put on workshops for staff at the state penitentiary in Bismarck. He will explain how to get the inmates to "put down" their drug habits, as well as the process that goes into quitting.

Boone will speak at 7 that night in the community room of the education building at Church of the Ascension, 1911 S. Third St., in a presentation called "Drugs in Mainstream America." He's hoping to attract students, parents, law enforcement, community boards and churches, but he said the presentation is one everyone should hear.

"Everybody's got a stake in this," he said.

Everything from higher insurance rates to violence in schools can be linked to drug use, Boone said.

"If this is ever going to get any better, it's going to take community involvement,"he said.

Roger Peet, a licensed addiction counselor at the state penitentiary, said the room can hold 150 to 200 people.

Boone said his community presentation will point out the need to support law enforcement, mental health providers and hospitals with detoxification programs. It also will address the need for prevention efforts in schools - efforts that should go beyond one-day events to point out the problems with addiction.

"There shouldn't be a school in Bismarck that doesn't have a prevention program, K-12,"he said.

On Wednesday, Boone will speak to the general population at the state penitentiary and do specialized workshops for prisoners targeted at dealing with addiction issues.

Peet said Boone's presentation to inmates is called "How to Turn Time Into Prosperity." Boone explains how the inmates can better themselves during their time behind bars, Peet said.

"He can hold himself out as a beacon for the inmates,"he said.

Peet said Wal-Mart and Sam's Club have pitched in to help pay for Boone's three-day visit, and Ramkota Inn has agreed to comp Boone's room.

"We really appreciate what the community has done and pulled together for us," Peet said.

Boone usually charges $1,500 plus expenses per day. He agreed to a lower rate, $3,000 for all three days plus expenses, for his trip to Bismarck, Peet said.

Boone would like to make coming to Bismarck an annual event, thus keeping addiction issues on the minds of people in the community. Speaking once is like "putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound."

"My job is to come to them, give it to them straight," Boone said. "Just the naked truth."

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)