Drug Addiction

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Strange world

In his stream-of-consciousness thriller University Of Strangers , former punk rocker, label head, and convict Bob Pfeifer turns real life into something really weird
Bob Pfeifer's debut novel, University of Strangers (published by Power City Press, the print arm of the punk label Smog Veil Records), is a fictionalized retelling of a sensational, true-life murder case, as related in the voices of real people.
By BOB PFEIFER | February 16, 2011

Justin Townes Earle fights the family tree

No country for young men
No one wants to stand in the shadow of his famous family.
By JONATHAN DONALDSON | December 14, 2010

A clean mind and dirty hands

Moral dilemmas for the Maine Clean Election Fund
Three people walk into a bank ...
By AL DIAMON | February 10, 2010

The Big Hurt: Dispatches from Splitsville

FOB fall out; Scorpions subsist; Tyler frightens shoppers
Ladies and gentlemen, the unthinkable has happened: Fall Out Boy have split up.
By DAVID THORPE | February 09, 2010

Fight for your right to party

Civil Liberties Dept.
Rhode Island's tragic collision with teen drinking in recent years has heightened concern about substance abuse in the state's school districts.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 11, 2009

Hard times

A former junkie looks back at tough days in Lowell
"You just shit yourself — every muscle, every joint aches. Your entire body cries for heroin. Just one bag of heroin, you know that's all you need, and you'll feel better."
By MIKE MILIARD | June 08, 2009

From the mouths of innocents

Modern poverty
It has become an unwelcome reality, living from paycheck to paycheck and worrying about job stability, but what about being born a guiltless young person growing up with a drug-addicted parent, no job skills, and no home?
By SONYA TOMLINSON | May 13, 2009

He's not a doctor . . .

. . . but he plays with one in LA. As hip-hop's newest secret weapon, Dawaun Parker is helping resuscitate rap's biggest stars.
Around this time four years ago, contemporary hip-hop tastemaker Dawaun Parker faced the same dilemma that most soon-to-be music-school grads negotiate: should he become a performer, a songwriter, or a barista?
By CHRIS FARAONE | May 18, 2009

40. Mickey Rourke

SCARFACE
Consider it a badge of honor, Mick: if they gave out Oscars for unsexy, you’d have a mantle full. We predict his comeback won’t last too long, but he might be able to extend his stay at least a little by leaving the hair extensions on the cutting-room floor.
By Boston Phoenix Staff | March 25, 2009

Sexual Politics

Everybody wants some, but women don’t call it an illness
Duchovny, now 48 and with a nearly complete doctorate from Yale in English lit, says he is back in rehab for sex addiction.
By MARY ANN SORRENTINO | October 09, 2008

Will Harvard drop acid again?

Psychedelic research returns to Crimsonland
In a moment of delightful whimsy in the annals of drug history, Albert Hofmann, after purposely ingesting LSD for the first time, rode his bicycle home and experienced all manner of beatific and hellish visions.
By PETER BEBERGAL | June 09, 2008

Unspeakable

What lies ahead in the trial of two former CVS officials?
Just when you thought Hillary Clinton couldn’t be more vile or shameless, along comes her remark about Bobby Kennedy’s assassination on the campaign trail.
By PHILLIPE + JORGE | May 28, 2008

The failure of ‘tough-on-crime’ tactics

Left untreated, drug addicts pose greater costs for everyone else
It was after midnight, and Dawn Jacques lay sleepless in her cell at the Adult Correctional Institutions, shuddering. Bathed in sweat, she stared at the ceiling for hours until it blurred.
By TE-PING CHEN | May 08, 2008

The addicted city

Why is it that one out of 125 Gloucester residents is a junkie?
This article originally appeared in the April 1, 1988 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By RIC KAHN | April 03, 2008

Yule appeal

Aimee Mann’s Christmas show hits the road
Aimee Mann has written many songs about heroin addiction so it’s pretty remarkable — even comic — that she launched a Christmas variety show last year.
By COLE HADDON | December 10, 2007

The problem with heroes

Lessons from the build-them-up, tear-them-down Boston firefighter backlash
Even the hardest-hearted news consumer had to wince this past week when the private autopsy results of Paul Cahill and Warren Payne were leaked to some of the press.
By ADAM REILLY | October 10, 2007

Betting your brain

You just think you’re going to win
It's no surprise that it feels good to win money.
By SAMANTHA HENIG | April 25, 2007

Wasted again

Factory Girl isn’t the bio-pic Edie deserves
Who was Edie Sedgwick? Was she a muse who inspired some notable work by Andy Warhol and Bob Dylan or just a footnote in their careers? Did she have any talent or accomplishments of her own? Why, in short, does she deserve a bio-pic? Watch the trailer for Factory Girl (QuickTime)
By GARY SUSMAN | February 07, 2007

Paula Spencer dries out

Roddy Doyle’s heroine recovers
Purgatory offers less inherent drama than Hell.
By CLEA SIMON | January 30, 2007

Can RI back away from the war on drugs?

Deficits and prison crowding propel the search for a more effective approach
When Rhode island voters narrowly approved a measure last November to allow felons on probation to vote, it marked an important step away from the kind of supposedly “tough on crime” policies that have long typified American criminal justice policy.
By IAN DONNIS | January 24, 2007

Killer coke

Obama, Bush, and the warped politics of drug use. Plus, ConCon coverage falls short, and Finneran’s foes raise a fuss
If you follow presidential politics, you know that Barack Obama’s past use of illegal drugs is suddenly a topic of great interest.
By ADAM REILLY | January 10, 2007

Candy

Not so tasty
When the first of three segments in a film about drug addicts is titled “Heaven,” you have a pretty good idea where it’s headed. Watch the trailer for Candy (QuickTime)
By PETER KEOUGH | November 29, 2006

The Stones

An essay on the older
This article originally appeared in the August 26, 1994 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By CAMILLE PAGLIA | November 16, 2006

Nanook of the north

Sports Blotter: Alaskan edition
Well, it’s official now. The Cincinnati Bengals have surged past the Portland Trailblazers as America’s pre-eminent sports-crime family.
By MATT TAIBBI | September 27, 2006

Citizen Slaine

In the studio with Boston’s hardest-working rapper
Trying to get to the bottom of one of the Boston scene’s more controversial rappers is no easy feat.
By MATTHEW M. BURKE | September 27, 2006

Healey gets it wrong

By opposing needle legalization, the Republican lieutenant governor plays politics with life and death
First the good news: the Massachusetts State Senate and House of Representatives have voted to legalize over-the-counter pharmacy sales of hypodermic needles to those over 18 years old who provide adequate proof of their age.
By EDITORIAL | June 28, 2006