angiesgrrrl-1 After seeing this documentary, I, like most people, wondered what the fate of those featured was. WELL, surprisingly enough, I was at the dog park today in Portland, Oregon and noticed a familiar face. It was none other than Alice, the punk rock girl from the movie! I found it hard to believe that it was really her, so I went up and talked to her and sure enough, it was! I guess she moved here 6 years ago and has been clean ever since! She told me that they were talking about doing a 'where are they now?' follow-up, but it never happened. I guess the lesbian girl who was working as a sex worker with HIV has since died, but most people are up to the same old. . .sad, but nice to know at the same time. People make choices, you know. Seeing her gave me hope. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me Alice, wherever u are.xo sigrun

Bobby Jo Billingsley the video jacket for this movie says "makes 'Trainspotting' look like an after school special, and they ain't lying. this is the best movie ever about hard drug use - unromantic, colorful, real. the first poster is correct that some gratuitously bad votes have pulled down this first-rate documentary, which should not be seen by squeamish viewers or people looking to have 'entertainment' with their popcorn and soda. no reliance on special effects, contrived whirlwind plots, just the real deal - interesting characters with life stories of a kind your typical middle-class film buff never comes across, parallel stories that develop organically. a great example that you can make a good flick on a small budget (and vice-versa)...

jpmaijala I was flipping channels late one evening and I caught the last half of this film. It was horrifying and bleak yet absolutely fascinating, like watching a car accident in slow-motion.The filmmakers set out to tell the truth about the effects of heroin addiction by following the daily lives of a group of black tar heroin addicts in the San Francisco Bay area. We see them become progressively sicker, thinner, paler and even lose hope of going clean. Three of them (2 guys and a girl) work as prostitutes to support their habit (2 later test positive for HIV). All the while they remain remarkably candid about their condition and we learn all we'd ever want to know about this sad lifestyle.I recommend this film but people with delicate sensibilities might want to stay away. Schools and drug awareness programs should use this film!

Blondie_ Every kid should see this very depressing, dark, and scary, and well-made documentary to see how evil drugs really are. It should be a must in any health/safety high school class! I know the documentary was made quite some time ago and I would love to see an update on the young adults who were featured in it. I do know that Tracy, the woman with the long brown hair and glasses, sobered up and is doing well. She was on the Oprah Winfrey show about two years ago on a segment about a women's drug rehab center-she was one of the people who had made it through the program. Sadly though, some of those people featured on the HBO doc looked so near death you know they probably are dead by now.