OxyContin

Health-care fraud is big business. What are the feds doing about it?

Jay and Silent Bob's POTcast: Jason Mewes talks about addiction, weed and getting old

If laughter is the best medicine, then Jason Mewes is quite healthy these days. Mewes, best known as best known as the talking half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, will be in Boulder this Friday with cult-film-god Kevin Smith to record an episode of their wildly successful weekly comedy podcast, Jay ... More >>

Marijuana: Project SAM touts public-health approach to pot in fighting legalization

The signing of Amendment 64 has plenty of folks talking about marijuana legalization -- even the Obama administration drug czar. Project SAM, which will formally launch in Denver tomorrow, is against the wider availability of cannabis. But the group, whose acronym stands for "Smart Approach to Marij ... More >>

To tip or not to tip? That's up for debate.

Marijuana: John Suthers uses Drugfree.org study to decry rising teen pot use

Shocker: The Partnership at Drugfree.org conducted a study on teen marijuana use, and the results are not positive. Equally big shocker: Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, who never misses an opportunity to criticize medical marijuana, is using the report to climb on the anti-cannabis soapbox ... More >>

THC-limit bill could ban many seniors and veterans from driving, activist says

On Monday, a Senate committee passed a THC-driving limits bill that's broader than one that fell short last year. As Senator Morgan Carroll noted here yesterday, the proposal establishes zero tolerance for any Schedule I or Schedule II drugs, including many prescription medications. Cannabis activis ... More >>

THC driving bill: Marijuana lawyer Rob Corry suggests a compromise

​This afternoon, Senator Steve King's revival of a THC-driving-limits bill will be the focus of a hearing at the State Capitol. In advance of the debate, attorney Rob Corry has released a letter, on view below, in which he argues against the measure. However, he also floats a compromise idea t ... More >>

After Whitney died, pundits got out the soapboxes in record time

Video: Video: With Whitney Houston, the only difference was that everyone knew her name

THC driving bill may be hard to kill despite iffy science, senator says

Last April, a bill to set THC driving standards was put on hold by a senate committee -- and a DUID-marijuana working group charged with reconsidering the issue deadlocked over the question of per se standards. But now, Representative Steve King has spoken publicly about resurrecting the measure, an ... More >>

Medical marijuana: CDPHE's Dr. Chris Urbina on physician assistants, patient denials

​By mid-January, as many as 4,200 potential medical marijuana patients will be told they are as much to blame for a "fraudulent" MMJ application as the doctor who signed off on a physician assistant's evaluation of that patient. The punishment? Waiting six months before they can apply again fo ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Physician assistants the cause of delayed applications?

​The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced last week that as many as 4,000 medical marijuana patient applications and renewals were being held up in order "to ensure patients and physicians are within guidelines." Despite the CDPHE's vagueness, we've learned that many ... More >>

Twenty f*cked up things people do at their relatives' house during the holidays

​We all do these things. Maybe not everything on the list every time, but what's the use of having relatives that we visit if we can't rifle through their crap, steal their personal hygiene items and exploit their imperfections to feel better about ourselves? Making them embarrassed and miser ... More >>

Kurt Ward gets probation for breaking into neighbor's home, fondling 16-year-old's panties

Bigger pic below.​Kurt Ward, 27, was arrested for his approach to getting off -- and now, some observers may feel he got off too easily. He's been sentenced to three years of intensive supervised probation for breaking into a neighbor's house and fondling panties belonging to a sixteen-year-o ... More >>

Steel Panther at the Bluebird Theater, 3/16/11

Aaron Thackeray​ STEEL PANTHER with Drug Under 03.16.11 | Bluebird Theater See Steel Panther at the Bluebird slideshow Last night, Steel Panther and a few hundred of its closest friends in Denver, hopped in the Delorean with Doc and took the Bluebird Theater back to the future when spandex, ... More >>

Marijuana: Rob Corry thinks THC driving limits may violate constitution, disabilities act

Rob Corry.​Yesterday, HB 1261, Representative Claire Levy's bill to set THC driving limits, survived its first legislative test, passing out of committee by a 6-2 vote. But medical marijuana attorney Rob Corry continues to argue against the bill -- see his letter to legislators below. In his v ... More >>

Scott Lee Kimball confesses to four murders in letter: Cousin says he had religious epiphany

Big pic below.​Although Scott Lee Kimball is a convicted serial killer, he's equivocated over time about his role in three of the four murders authorities have long believed he committed. But in an enormous letter to his cousin, author Ed Coet, that found its way into the possession of the FBI ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensary review: Mile High Dispensary -- Englewood

​Mile High Dispensary was a random stop. I had driven down to Littleton only to find I had the wrong address for another club. Frustrated at my stoner-moment, I made my way back north up Broadway through Englewood and turned in.

Medical Marijuana: Mobile care program gets blessing of health dept. advisory committee

Vincent Palazzotto.​On Tuesday, the health department's medical marijuana advisory committee, considered whether or not bless language requiring docs to have a permanent location in order to recommend MMJ -- a provision that would have doomed the Medical Marijuana Assistance Program of the Roc ... More >>

Oxycontin thief wanted: Do you recognize man who robbed a Colorado Springs Walgreens?

Big pics below.​Yes, Oxycontin is expensive, and getting a prescription for it isn't easy -- but that doesn't mean it's okay to tell a pharmacist you've got a weapon and swipe as much of it as possible. According to the Colorado Springs Police Department, a thief recently did just that. Look b ... More >>

Stormtroopers trying to break into cars in Centennial? May the Force not be with them!

​Plenty of thieves have active fantasy lives. Remember the guy who robbed a 7-Eleven using a Klingon battle weapon called a bat'leth? Or the teen who reportedly deployed a sword to steal Oxycontin? But alleged lawbreakers in Centennial recently took things to the next level, disguising themse ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Health dept. reinstates 1,300 rejected MMJ patients -- for now

​The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's rejection of nearly 2,000 medical marijuana patients' licenses prompted talk of potential lawsuits from MMJ advocacy groups. But the dynamic changed at yesterday's meeting of the CDPHE's medical marijuana advisory committee, when the ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Nearly 2,000 MMJ patient recommendations nixed over quiet rule change

​Over the past week or so, medical marijuana patients across the state have learned that doctor recommendations for the card allowing them to use MMJ have been rejected. Why? A new health department policy that slid into place almost unnoticed -- one that's likely to disenfranchise and anger n ... More >>

Townie made good: The Town's a blue-collar stick-up movie

When this physician gets the fever, it's the women he dates who can't shake the bug

Medical marijuana bill worse than nothing, says Cannabis Therapy Institute's Laura Kriho

CTI's Laura Kriho would have voted "no."​As noted in just-published posts, advocate Matt Brown is a fan of HB 1284, the just-passed measure to regulate the medical marijuana industry, while attorney Brian Vicente sees both that bill and SB 109, about the relationship between doctors and MMJ pa ... More >>

Jeffrey Sweetin, special DEA agent, thinks medical marijuana advocate Rob Corry is more interested in legalizing pot for everyone than in providing it responsibly for patients

Jeffrey Sweetin doesn't think much of Rob Corry's objections to the doctor-patients bill.​For members of the medical marijuana industry, Jeffrey Sweetin, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Denver field office, is a lightning rod thanks to comments he made after th ... More >>

Medical marijuana caregiver on probation, Erick Schmuckal, goes to jail over weed

Erick Schmuckal is currently in the Broomfield County Jail.​On Wednesday, Erick Schmuckal was taken directly from a court hearing to jail. He's been ordered to serve 120 days for violating his probation. What did he do to earn this sentence? According to his attorney, Sean McAllister, he acte ... More >>

Medical marijuana advocate Jessica Corry extends an olive branch to DEA agent Jeffrey Sweetin

Jessica Corry wants to meet you for lunch, Agent Sweetin.​Yesterday, we published an extended interview with DEA special agent Jeffrey Sweetin, a lightning rod for controversy about medical marijuana. Predictably, some of his assertions about the DEA's actions troubled Jessica Corry, an attorn ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Could Colorado pass a law as restrictive as New Jersey's?

A graphic from the Coalition of Medical Marijuana New Jersey website.​Now that Denver City Council has approved a set of medical marijuana rules, the next major deliberative body in Colorado to take on the topic will be the state legislature. But there's no clear map for the legislature to fo ... More >>

2009 Year in Review: When the lows were lower and the highs were really, really high

The members of Flashbulb Fires wrestle with their faith

SAFER's Mason Tvert on medical marijuana, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and a weed poll on the rise

Mason Tvert gets ready for Halloween. Busted!​It's already been a big week in marijuana. Yesterday, the Obama administration issued new, less strident rules about medical-marijuana, prompting Colorado Attorney General and anti-pot crusader John Suthers to demand tighter regulations on dispensa ... More >>

En garde!: Teen uses sword in Oxycontin heist attempt

A Flickr photo Armed robbers are almost invariably armed with the same thing: a gun. Bo-ring! But nineteen-year-old Dylan Lee Suomi reportedly took a different tack Tuesday night when he decided to boost some Oxycontin from a Glendale Walgreens, using a samurai sword. Can't say this switcheroo was ... More >>

Letters from the week of March 19

The astounding adventures of the Wall Creeper, Colorado's own superhero

Last Night's Show: A Shoreline Dream, Moonspeed, Sonnenblume at the Bluebird

Photo: Aaron ThackerayA Shoreline Dream, Moonspeed, SonnenblumeThursday, February 26, 2009Bluebird TheaterBetter Than: Taking OxyContin and staring at clouds.Maybe it's the pretty sunsets, or maybe it's the lack of oxygen, but Denver has the makings of a surprisingly good bliss-rock scene. Last nigh ... More >>

Pain Management

Cancer patient Tim Thomason didn't think he could feel any worse. His Denver jailers showed that he could.

Shmuck of the Week

Rush to Riot

How seriously should we take Rush Limbaugh's fantasies of a disturbance in Denver?

Q&A With Slash From Velvet Revolver/Guns N' Roses

Velvet Revolver Seek Libertad

Slash touts his new band as everyone’s celebrating the old one.

You Do the Meth

Police raids bust up drug labs. But they also bust up families.

Show Me the Mommy

Cuba Gooding Jr. spars with Helen Mirren in Shadowboxer.

Shout at the Devil

Satan, screamo and superstardom clash in Racebannon's high-concept hardcore.

Nail Art

Skip and Amy once worked the mall together. Now she's out on her own.