The Colorado Independent: Heather McBroom’s stint with drug addiction follows her to this day.

She said she was studying to be a teacher at Pikes Peak Community College when her friends first gave her methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that, much like Adderall, can improve focus. She became addicted. And like most people in the throes of addiction, she sold the drug to support her habit. In 2000, she was arrested and slapped with a felony, later serving three years in community corrections.

She served her time, she said, but that conviction still dogs her.

Her felony prevented her from becoming a teacher, so she started her own business and now works as a paralegal in Colorado Springs. Even so, some insurance companies won’t hire her because of her record. She can’t notarize documents. And landlords routinely deny her rental applications, she said.

She wants to take responsibility for her crime and be a contributing member of society, she said, but “you have to allow me the right to do that with a clean slate.”

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