Valium

A rundown of the rap world's favorite drugs

Drug culture isn't relegated exclusively to rock, obviously. For its part, the rap game is equally loaded with drug references of all kinds, from Promethazine and DMT to LSD and PCP, and likewise addled with its own cautionary tales and fatalities. While there's nothing as concrete to suggest that d ... More >>

Boulder writer Matt Samet chronicles his benzo hell in Death Grip

Benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax are one of the most widely prescribed drugs in America -- and one of the most addictive. In Death Grip, which came our yesterday, Boulder-based author, expert climber and former editor-in-chief of Climbing magazine Matt Samet chronicles his five-plus-year strugg ... More >>

My five worst school lunches

Public school students are being awfully whiny about their school lunches right now. The reason is because the United States Department of Agriculture just restructured standards for school lunches for the first time in over a decade, and now students have to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole gr ... More >>

Five biggest fakers in recent Colorado history

Former stolen valor arrestee Rick Strandlof has been many people in his life...two of whom were completely fabricated. But he has never been formally charged with profiting from his personalities -- nor is he the only person to have spun tall tales to change his life. Click through for stories from ... More >>

Lester Bangs died thirty years ago today

See Also: • Studio 54 opened 35 years ago today • Randy Rhoads: Thirty years ago, a tragic accident took the life of a legendary guitarist • Sex Pistols sign with A&M outside Buckingham Palace 35 years ago • Today in History archives Lester Bangs mother was a Jehovah's Witness and his Fathe ... More >>

Dr. Louis Hampers sentenced to five years of probation for prescription drug fraud

Louis Hampers, the former pediatric ER doc who pleaded guilty to prescription drug fraud, was sentenced today to five years of supervised probation. Hampers, who was the subject of our cover story "Doctor Strange Love," must serve the first six months of that probation in home detention. He must als ... More >>

Alphabets' Colin Ward: "It began when I was born. Or before. Or scratch that it just began five minutes ago."

Interviewing Alphabets (Colin Ward) is similar to listening to his music: you're put through the ringer of an obnoxious charm, simultaneously witty and grating, aggressive and inviting. Combining both the underground music scene with demanding academic ambitions, the hyper and endlessly talented Col ... More >>

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 >>

Dr. Louis Hampers, accused of stalking Deborah Sherman: No extra house arrest freedoms

News that reporter Deborah Sherman is out at 9News -- and the dearth of details as to why -- has dragged disgraced doctor Louis Hampers into the news again. Westword first reported on the link between the two; Sherman claims former ER doc Hampers stalked her after she broke a second date with him. I ... More >>

Medical marijuana strains richest in CBDs: Top Colorado samples

Tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as THC, is the most commonly known psychoactive ingredient in cannabis -- the ingredient in ganja that gets you high. It also gives you the munchies, can create undue paranoia from time to time, and makes Cheech and Chong movies marginally funny. In short: THC is w ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensary review: Top Shelf Alternatives in Boulder

​Top Shelf Alternatives is a questionable name. The owners likely meant to suggest they carry top-shelf medicine compared to other shops in town, but depending on when you visit, it could mean the complete opposite.

Joshua Wittig sentenced to 10 years for heavily drugged crash that killed John Page Hines

Joshua Wittig.​Opponents of a Westminster Police drug-enforcement checkpoint note correctly that alcohol-related crashes like Department of Corrections officer Jason Ulrich's are far more prevalent those those involving narcotics. But the latter do happen, as shown by the case of Joshua Witti ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Top 10 medicated edibles in Colorado

​I'm not a big edibles guy -- something that stems from my early experiences making brownies using ground-up schwag. The memory of the slightly burned, and entirely gritty, undercooked chocolate mass that put me to sleep still haunts me to this day. And medically, it doesn't make much sense fo ... More >>

Marijuana: Chaz Moore, student not allowed to medicate at school, could lead class-action suit

Chaz Moore.​Chaz Moore, sixteen, is a Colorado Springs student with a rare medical condition whose flareups are radically improved by medical marijuana. However, his high school won't allow Chaz (originally known by the pseudonym "Bill Smith") to medicate on campus. So now, after months of fig ... More >>

Louis Hampers, former Children's Hospital ER doc, pleads guilty to prescription drug fraud

Hampers​ Louis Hampers, the former Children's Hospital ER doctor charged with writing 654 phony prescriptions (in addition to harassing women he met on adult websites), won't be doctoring or online dating any time soon. He pleaded guilty today to fourteen counts of prescription drug fraud, eac ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensary review: Bud Cellar on Santa Fe has bud, but no cellar

​Given the cellar part of the name Bud Cellar (and my stoned imagination), I had grand visions of the shop. I imagined being led down a spiral staircase to a dank, stone-walled, dimly lit basement filled with chilled, curing jars of cannabis sitting next to aging cheeses and expensive wines. N ... More >>

Joshua Wittig convicted of vehicular homicide in death of John Hines, was on pot and much more

Joshua Wittig.​The October arrest of then-eighteen-year-old Joshua Wittig in a fatal accident that killed John Page Hines, 33, was accompanied by allegations that Wittig was high on marijuana that he may have obtained by improperly claiming to be a licensed medical marijuana patient. But evide ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensary review: The Herbal Cure

​The outside of The Herbal Cure still looks probably much the way it has since it was built in 1927, minus the giant red railroad trolley in the front, which makes it look like a movie set for a spaghetti western.

Greg Graffin of Bad Religion: still straight-edge after all these years

Medical marijuana dispesnary review: Kushism is a low point in the Highlands

​Maybe it was the Barney-purple paint, or possibly the security guard dozing off on the front porch. But something about the vibe of Kushism Highlands told me to just drive past it and find another dispensary to visit. I think it's time I start listening to those small voices in my head.

Louis Hampers: No bail yet for controversial doc charged with writing fake prescriptions

Louis Hampers.​Dr. Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital ER doctor charged with writing 654 fake prescriptions, appeared for the first time in a Colorado court today after being arrested in Virginia on September 7. At a 2 p.m. hearing, Magistrate Judge Kathleen Tafoya denied him bail.

Off Limits: A wild ending for Buckskin Joe, a great, shlocky tourist attraction

Louis Hampers: Feds indict controversial doctor for allegedly writing 100s of fake prescriptions

Louis Hampers.​ Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital doctor who was the subject of the recent Westword feature "When This Physician Gets the Fever, it's the Women He Dates Who Can't Shake the Bug," was arrested this morning on charges of writing hundreds of phony prescriptions. An indictment ... More >>

Brian John Neafus allegedly uses dad's access card to steal drugs from fire-rescue building

Brian John Neafus allegedly thought he had the key to the candy store.​When dad's away, the kid will play -- even if the kid's 22 years old. That's the assertion of the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office in regard to Brian John Neafus. Early last Thursday, the ACSO was called to investigate a b ... More >>

Medical marijuana attorney Rob Corry: "The future is here"

Rob Corry has his PR cannon aimed squarely at Centennial.​The lawsuit against Centennial by CannaMart, a medical marijuana dispensary the city shut down despite granting it a business license a short time earlier, gets its first reading in court today, and Rob Corry and a team of attorneys rep ... More >>

Beyond Playlist: Church of Misery and more

​Church of Misery Houses of the Unholy (Rise Above/Metal Blade) The Japanese knack for musical mimicry reaches a new peak on the latest by Church of Misery, which sounds so much like the best hard-rock album from 1975 (or 1985) (or 1995) that listeners can be excused for checking their calend ... More >>

Forget swine flu: The flight to Mexico could kill you

A Flickr photo You might be second-guessing that vacation to Mexico now after hearing that most U.S. airlines have suspended flights to the country during May and June in the wake of the pig-flu shitstorm. United canceled all of them leaving from Colorado . But don't send that week of margaritas, J ... More >>

Invisible Orange

Iron Mountain
Self-released

The Verve

Forth
On Your Own

Moovers and Shakers 2006

Backbeat writers sound off on the best local releases of 2006.

Bait and Switch

A hero of the Hong Kong new wave returns the compliment.

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Invisible Orange

Valium (Mourning Star Records)

Confessions of a Bar Girl

She's hot. She's coming over. Wanna buy some Scotch?

GWARlords

GWAR marks its platinum year of gore.

Anti-Rock

LCD Soundsystem's brain trust happily loses his edge.

Breast Friend

When a stripper decided to get something off her chest, it landed on this doctor.

Circling the Drain

Exploring the beauty of sadness, Orbit Service spins tales best heard sitting down.

Cheese Whiz

Chedd's alert: This time the revolution will be televised, you betcha.

72-Hour Party People

Meth: It's not just for the white-trash crowd.

Boot It

When kickball beckoned, scenesters took heed.

Hit Pick

Orbit Service

Backwash

Three of Denver’s finest acts resurface, in three different forms.

Queens of the Stone Age

Rated R
(Interscope Records)

Mouthing Off

Only the Lonely

Off Limits

Playlist

Over the Moon

A new breed of country fan is taking a shine to Moonshine Willy.

Bounce for Bounce