Ex-heroin addict says farewell to addiction
Everyone got a bronze coin for graduating drug rehab. Well, at least they did at the one I went to. All the ceremonies were the same. The coin is passed around among the…
Past heroin addict tells abscess horror stories
The pain was agonizing. I told the doctor in the emergency room to slice open my thigh and drain the pus. Once he could do that, I would be on my way. There…
Bay to Breakers bans backpacks after Boston bombings
When Bay to Breakers officials announced that this year’s race would now include backpacks to its list of banned items, Bob Hearn didn’t mind. The 47-year-old software company CEO wasn’t going to bring…
Rediscovering sex on the first stretches of sobriety
Soon after the dope sickness, the anger and the depression, my cravings to use drugs slowly began to disappear. Without drugs and alcohol, I faced a whole new set of challenges. I became…
Ex-addict supports new bill to reduce risk of felony charges
I used to sit in my car listening to the public radio station while I waited for my drug dealer to arrive. Shows like the “BBC News Hour,” “This American Life” and “Wait,…
SF State Muslim community quells media driven stereotypes
Soon after the bombing of the Boston marathon, the world saw gruesome photos of the bombing victims with blast wounds, melted clothing and lost limbs. People wanted to know what happened and who…
The greatest revelation that beat addiction
This is the final installment of a three-part getting sober series, which explores some of the more memorable moments that led up to my sobriety date, Dec. 19, 2008. It was early in…
New LGBTQ safe zones aim to reduce crime, increase security
Tommi Mecca still doesn’t totally trust the police. For years, Mecca said the police harassed him and others for being gay. “I’m 61, and I grew up in a time when we got beaten up…
SF rent resource puts SF State student on the map
SF State student Adam Millman doesn’t work during the school year, relying entirely on his financial aid to pay the bills. The mechanical engineering major said about 60 percent of that aid goes…
Trying sobriety in the trenches of addiction
This is part two of a three-part getting sober series, which explores some of the more memorable moments that led up to my sobriety date, Dec. 19, 2008. As a drug addict, I…
The road to sobriety: homelessness versus rehab
This is the first part of a three-part getting sober series, which explores some of the more memorable moments that led up to my sobriety date, Dec. 19, 2008. People often ask me…
UP2CODE app enables citizens to report violations in SF
The City Attorney’s Office officially jumped on the technology bandwagon when it announced a new smartphone app that allows users to report non-emergency violations directly to code enforcement offices. Officially launched April 1, the…
Serial Inebriate Program arouses ex-addict’s concern
When I was in jail, the hardcore drug addicts and alcoholics told me not to accept a drug treatment program in the place of jail. Treatments are a hassle. Do your time, get…
New laws affect the consequences of calling in an overdose
We were cooking up black tar heroin at his place. It was early in my junkie career and I didn’t yet know how to hit my vein with the needle. My friend was…
Drug trends evolve at SF State
With midterms approaching, students are advised to study hard and be prepared. “Paul” takes this advice to the extreme. The 21-year-old political science major started stocking up on amphetamine pills weeks in advance….
Learning to love through years of addiction
I wanted to begin my new column with a story about injecting heroin into my penis, but my girlfriend, Nicole, warned me it may be too soon. The audience might not be ready,…
SF State struggles to match demand for popular majors
Super seniors aren’t the cool kids on campus, they’re just students who got stuck here, couldn’t get the classes they needed and didn’t graduate on time. An impacted major isn’t a constipated army…
Viral VICE article on Tenderloin drug use elicits criticism, personal narrative
Being a drug addict is the worst. I know. For almost five years I shot heroin every day. I lived the life of a heroin junkie: stealing, lying and doing whatever it takes to…
California gun ban reality hits target on heated debate
The red light came on at the Coyote Point Shooting Range in San Mateo, Calif. signaling the shooting area was now “hot.” Andy Navarro stepped over the red line, placed his AR-15-style semi-automatic…
Controversy looms over potential condo conversion law
The flames of discord rage on between homeowner advocates and tenant rights activists over a new law that, if passed, would allow for a onetime citywide increase in the amount of residential units…
Thousands march in SF against Keystone XL pipeline
Tommy Diestel, a student of Butte College, held a megaphone and led some of the thousands of people who marched near the Embarcadero in San Francisco during a climate rally on Feb. 17,…
Immigration reform reignites policy discussion
Immigrant rights activist Perla Flores crossed the border unchecked with her parents when she was 8 years old and lived undocumented for years. In 2010, she got her green card, 15 years after…
New drug disposal program aims to cut down pollution, abuse
In response to a mounting body of evidence that says pharmaceutical waste is ending up in our drinking water and polluting the environment, San Francisco has instituted a new program offering people safe,…
