homelessness

Behind the curtain of an exam room at the UC San Diego Hillcrest emergency department, Dr. James Dunford attempts to coax the truth from a woman who is a stereotype of drug-seeking behavior.

While she fidgets and shivers in a paper-thin exam smock, tears roll down the gentle slope of her cheeks. But there is every reason to believe the patient is feigning stomach pains to receive an intravenous dose of the semi-synthetic morphine Dilaudid — so powerful when injected it is sometimes compared with heroin.