Donald Kurth, a former heroin addict, is now a doctor and mayor of the city of Rancho Cucamonga, the Los Angeles Times reported April 23.

Kurth's life was turned around in 1969, when a judge offered him the chance to get treatment for his heroin addiction rather than a jail term for petty larceny and drug possession. Kurth, then 20, took the offer despite some initial hesitation and the knowledge that the jail sentence would be shorter than the rehab program.

"It's like the story of the comeback kid," said Kurth, now 57. "I knew my life was spiraling out of control, but luckily, I was able to pull it out."

Kurth is now chief of addiction medicine at Loma Linda University's Behavioral Medical Center. Despite opponents who condemned his drug-use history, he won a narrow electoral victory in November to become mayor of middle-class and ethnically diverse Rancho Cucamonga. "He certainly doesn't go out and paint a tag that says 'Look at me,' but people who try to use his background against him don't succeed," said Councilwoman Diane Williams.

In his heroin-using youth, Kurth lived on the streets, got mugged for drugs, and was stabbed by would-be thieves. The Daytop therapeutic community in New York helped him end his heroin addiction. "He was erratic and he was a scatterbrain, but he had the determination to change his lifestyle," recalled Daytop founder Msgr. William O'Brien.

"I was pretty high on being clean, and I felt grateful for my life," Kurth said. "I wanted to do something with it."

Columbia University took a chance on Kurth, enrolling him despite his B grades and arrest record. He graduated with honors and enrolled in Columbia's medical school. During his internship and residency he battled colon cancer. He continued to drink despite abstaining from illicit drugs, but has been sober since 1993.

Kurth says of his patients, "They can relate to me because I can talk to them about my own past. It's very rewarding because you can make a dramatic difference in people's lives."

"I like to stay busy," he said. "I've been fortunate in my life with my recoveries. I've been given a new life, so every day is exciting."