Posts tagged sex
CU police: Sex assault suspect sketch released
0May 1, 2013
The University of Colorado Boulder Police Department is asking the public for help in identifying the suspect involved in an attempted sex assault. A composite sketch of the suspect is attached. Through interviews with the victim, UCPD has also been able to identify a more specific location and time of the incident. UCPD believes the attempted sex assault occurred between 11:15 to 11:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26, 2013, near Broadway and Pleasant Street.
Below is background from the original April 27 press release:
The University of Colorado Boulder Police Department is investigating a report of an attempted sexual assault on the west end of campus near Broadway. On April 27, 2013 a female CU student reported to police that around midnight she was attacked near the Broadway bike path while walking home from a party on the hill. According to the victim, the suspect approached from behind, pushed her to the ground, placed a pair scissors to her throat, and began to remove her clothing. The female struck the suspect in the face and was able to flee the scene.
The female described the attacker as follows:
- White male
- Approximately 50 years old
- 5’ 6”
- Scruffy beard
- Crooked teeth
- Wearing dark colored athletic shorts and a white t-shirt
The case number is 2013-1059.
Anyone with information about this crime should contact Sergeant Michael Lowry at 303-492-8168. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted via the Crime Stoppers website at http://www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
-CU police press release-
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Get your sleeping bags ready and be there early
0April 4, 2013
by Ron Baird, news editor
in News
Clerk & Recorder’s Office to Open at Midnight May 1 for Civil Union Licenses
Boulder County, Colo. –
The Recording Division staff plans to open its office at 1750 33rd St. from midnight to about 2 a.m. to issue licenses to couples as soon as Colorado’s new civil unions law takes effect on May 1. The Boulder office will reopen for regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“May 1 will be an exciting and historic day for same-sex couples in Boulder County and Colorado,” Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall said. “We’re eager to serve local couples who’ve waited a long time for civil unions to be recognized by the state.”
Branch offices at 529 Coffman St. in Longmont and 722 Main St. in Louisville will be open for regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 1.
Clerk’s office staff will post more information about civil unions, including cost and forms to complete, on BoulderCounty.org later this month.
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Boulder police arrest sex assault suspect; are concerned there may be more victims
0March 22, 2013
Boulder police, with the assistance of the Evans Police Department, arrested George Osonau Tiba (DOB 1/5/1965) at his home in Evans, CO on March 21, 2013. Tiba is charged with two counts of Sexual Assault, one count of Second Degree Burglary and one count of Theft. He was taken to the Weld County Jail and is being held there on $50,000 bond.
Tiba has been under investigation for a sex assault which occurred in Boulder on Feb. 17, 2013, sometime between the hours of 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. The victim is a 22-year-old female. The assault occurred at the victim’s home on 11th St.
She told police she met Tiba for the first time while she was out with friends earlier in the evening (March 20) at the Walrus, located at 1911 11th St. The victim also told police that the suspect stole cash and other items from her home after the assault.
Friends of the victim told investigators they believed that the suspect had been watching for potential victims at the Walrus, because he immediately approached the victim when she arrived with her group of friends. They believe the suspect targeted the victim, even though she attempted to disengage herself from him several times during the evening.
Because of Tiba’s behavior on the evening of the assault and because of some past incidents involving Tiba, police are concerned that he may have victimized others who have not yet reported the incidents to investigators.
This case number is 13-2212.
Anyone with information about Tiba, or who believes they may have been victimized by Tiba, is asked to contact the Boulder Police Department at 303-441-1974. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website atwww.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
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Lively fight waged against sex ed bill
0February 21, 2013
by Ron Baird, news editor
in News
by Todd Engdahl on Feb 19th, 2013. | Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org
Already hyped up from nearly two days of gun-control debate, the Colorado House Tuesday leapt into a morning-long wrangle over sex education.
Rep. Crisanta Duran, D-Denver
The Democratic-controlled House gave preliminary approval to House Bill 13-1081, but not before Republicans tried a blizzard of amendments to remedy what they see as the bill’s weaknesses.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, would create an expanded set of standards for human sexuality education that schools and districts would have to follow if they used grants from a fund that also would be created by the bill. The new requirements wouldn’t affect districts that continue to use existing health and sex education standards. Parents would have to be informed about use of the new program and could opt their children out of classes.
Do your homework
Pre-amended text of the bill
Memo explaining the bill
EdNews coverage of Feb. 7 committee hearing on the bill
Supporters believe current sex-education efforts are not as effective as they could be and that stronger programs are needed to reduce teen pregnancy and the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.
The measure is supported by groups such as Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains; One Colorado, a LGBT advocacy group; the Colorado Association of School Nurses; and Denver Health.
It’s opposed by such groups as Colorado Family Action, the Colorado Catholic Conference and the Douglas County schools.
Republican opponents of the bill were unhappy with what they see as insufficient emphasis on abstinence (referred to during the debate as “sexual risk avoidance”), a lack of review mechanisms for the program’s effectiveness, a possibly biased oversight board and a lack of parent representation on the board. Some Republicans also are uncomfortable with the bill’s requirement that sex education be inclusive of gay and lesbian students.
Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument and a former policy analyst for Focus on the Family, led the charge against the bill. She repeatedly challenged Duran, often in a snide tone.
At one point Stephens referred to a Duran statement as “gobbledygook.”
During another exchange, Duran said, “Representative Stephens, I answered your question.”
“No you didn’t, no you didn’t,” Stephens responded.
Late in the debate, Duran just stopped answering Stephens’ questions (as is allowed by House rules).
Here are some other sound bites from the nearly four hours of debate:
Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument
“This is just a Planned Parenthood jobs bill,” Stephens said. It’s an outrage of epic proportions.”
Defending the bill’s inclusiveness, Rep. Sue Schafer, D-Wheat Ridge, said she was speaking as “a gay mother and a gay grandmother.”
Arguing against sex education in early primary grades, Rep. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, said, “Don’t take away the innocence of children.” At another point Priola said, “As a practicing Catholic I feel it abhorrent that birth control is even used.”
“First-graders should not be taught sex in our public schools,” agreed Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch.
“There’s a radical individualism in this bill. … It undermines the natural rights of parents,” said Rep. Stephen Humphrey, R-Severance.
“I’m amazed that in 2013 … we’re going on and on about this issue. I think we need adult sex education,” said Rep. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins, who holds a doctorate in reproductive endocrinology from Colorado State University.
The debate also was marked by multiple parliamentary time-outs as House leaders decided whether various amendments and maneuvers were within House rules. At several points Republican members were making substitute amendments for changes proposed by their own colleagues.
Three amendments were passed, all with Democratic approval. One clarifies that the bill doesn’t change state health education standards and the second would add one parent to the oversight board created by the bill. As a nod to McNulty, Duran also allowed what she saw as a meaningless amendment about sex ed for students in early grades.
The bill will need a final House roll call vote before moving the Senate.
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Raccoon killer arrested in Hawaii for Boulder rape
0December 21, 2012
Suspect in sex assault arrested in Hawaii
Boulder police detectives investigating an alleged sexual assault have issued an arrest warrant for Nicholas Philip Foti (DOB 12/12/1991). Foti was arrested yesterday, Dec. 20, 2012 in Honolulu, HI where he was visiting family. Foti was scheduled to make an initial appearance today in Hawaii. Extradition to Colorado is pending.
Foti is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old female in September 2012. The assault was not immediately reported. The attack took place at her home, which is located in the 900 block of 12th Street.
The victim told police that she was home alone during the early-morning hours of Sept.15, 2012, when Foti and another male entered her residence without her permission, looking for one of the victim’s roommates, with whom Foti was acquainted.
The victim says Foti sexually assaulted her when he realized she was by herself. Police believe the other male witnessed the attack.
According to the victim, Foti and the other male called her numerous obscenities during the incident. Before leaving the residence, they vandalized the kitchen and smashed a bicycle.
The case number is 12-15382.
Foti’s bond has been set at $50,000 in Boulder. He faces one charge of Sexual Assault, one charge of Unlawful Sexual Contact and one charge of First Degree Burglary. Boulder police and the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office are working with Honolulu police to extradite Foti back to Boulder.
Foti is currently on probation because of his involvement in the brutal beating death of a raccoon in November 2011.
Anyone with information about the sex assault case is asked to contact Detective Jack Gardner at 303-441-1851. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
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Jon Embree was too nice for football. He had to go.
0November 27, 2012
Excuse me, who did Jon Embree think he was coaching a Pop Warner Football team on 11 year olds?? There’s no crying in football. by Jann Scott
The CU Buffs football team is a division 1 American football team with high expectations and there is no room on it for losers. And no cry babys either. What is Embree crying about? He has the worst football record in the teams history. He was an embarrassment to the program. He should have been fired half way through the season. Crying and hugging your players at a press conference about your termination is not exactly manning up. That is not exactly manning up to the situation.
He should have been fired half way through the season. With a 1-11 record He did not “do it right” He did it wrong. And everybody knows it. but because Embree is a nice guy, no one is saying it. Well, I’;ll say it. Nice guys finish last. His team was a bunch undisciplined poorly trained weak players. Embree was a terrible coach. There are no bad players just bad coaches. Nobody says “poor Jon with a 4-24 two year record. They say pack your shit and get the hell out of the football stadium. Jesus H. Christ !
Football is a murderous , crushing game of brawn, steroids, violence combined with a little skill. It is a modern day gladiator blood sport. It is sex and violence. It destroys the lives of the gladiator once he makes it to the NFL. It is about money and it is about winning. It is about winning. It is about ranking. It is about myth and legend.
Of course Mike Bohn did the right thing by firing Embree. Embree put Bohn in a bad spot. If Bohn does not come up with a good replacement coach for next year , he will be gone too. Oilman Loyd Benson will not allow a losing team on the CU Boulder Campus.
Fans hate it. And John Embree, maybe he should consider another profession like guidance counselor.
Related Story: Embree Fired
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New CU Boulder discoveries hold promise for treatment of Hepatitis B virus infection
0October 22, 2012
A University of Colorado Boulder-led team has discovered two prime targets of the Hepatitis B virus in liver cells, findings that could lead to treatment of liver disease in some of the 400 million people worldwide currently infected with the virus.
CU-Boulder Professor Ding Xue, who led the studies, said scientists have been looking for cellular targets of the Hepatitis B virus, or HBV, for more than three decades. Infections from HBV promote hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and liver cancer and can be transmitted through blood and bodily fluids, unprotected sex, unsterile needles and from infected mother to offspring during birth.
CU professor Ding Xue
Xue said scientists have known for some time that HBV encodes a pathogenic, tumor-promoting protein known as HBx, but how it works has remained largely unknown. In two new studies, Xue and his colleagues showed that the “host targets” of HBx in human cells are two small cell proteins known as Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, both of which are well-known cell death inhibitors but which have not previously been implicated in HBV infection.
HBx uses a particular “motif,” a small string of protein building blocks known as amino acids that resemble those seen in some cell death-causing proteins, to interact with the Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL targets and stimulate an elevation of calcium in the host cell. The calcium elevation then triggers both viral HBV replication and cell death, said Xue.
When the researchers introduced gene mutations into the motif, HBx binding to the Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL proteins and viral replication were prevented. Similarly, when either Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL proteins were “knocked out” or weakened in human liver cells, HBx was less able to cause an increase in calcium and viral replication inside the infected cells.
“Our most important findings are the identification of the motif itself and the two HBx host targets,” said Xue of CU-Boulder’s molecular, cellular and developmental biology department. “Now we can start thinking about new drug targets to treat HBV.”
Two papers on the subject led by Xue were published online Oct. 22 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to major CU-Boulder co-authors Xin Geng, Brian Harry, Qinghua Zhou, Yan Qin and Amy Palmer, a group led by Professor Ning-Shao Xia from the National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases at Xiamen University in China collaborated on one of the studies.
The World Health Organization estimated in July that about 600,000 people die annually from acute or chronic HBV infection, which is most predominant in Asia and Africa.
In one of the PNAS studies, the authors used a tiny roundworm known as C. elegans, a widely used animal model in biomedical research, to identify HBx host targets within the cell. Xue and his team showed that HBx can induce cell death in C. elegans through a protein known as CED-9, mimicking an early stage of liver infection by HBV.
Previous work had shown CED-9 in C. elegans is a homolog of the human Bcl-2 protein — a different protein in a different animal that has a similar function. Despite the stark differences between roundworms and humans, scientists estimate 35 percent of C. elegans genes have human homologs.
“Our results suggest that C. elegans can serve as a good animal model for identifying crucial host factors and cell signaling pathways and aid in development of strategies to treat HBV-induced liver disorders,” said Xue. “I think the use of C. elegans will galvanize the field of HBV study, which has been in search of a good animal model for three decades.”
Simple animal models like fruit flies and roundworms have been critical for understanding fundamental biological processes such as aging, cell death and the regulation of gene expression. “Many would not have considered using C. elegans as a model to study HBV, but the genetic ‘tools’ of C. elegans are ideal for the identification of viral host targets, even though C. elegans is not a native host for the virus,” said CU’s Harry. Harry is pursuing both a Ph.D. degree in MCD Biology at CU-Boulder and an M.D. at the CU School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora through the Medical Scientist Training Program.
“Both studies show that if you create two mutations in this small HBx motif, it takes away its ability to bind to Bcl-2 family proteins. This wipes out viral replication and host cell death caused by HBx expression,” said Harry.
Xue said there currently is no effective treatment for chronic HBV carriers, although some people with chronic HBV are treated with interferon and anti-viral drugs. But such treatments are either unavailable or too expensive in developing countries where most of the HBV infections are occurring. “That’s why these new findings could have profound clinical and pharmaceutical implications for the treatment of HBV patients,” he said.
Harry said the Hepatitis B vaccine, which was developed in 1982, is administered around the world and has been shown to work well in preventing new infections. “The problem is that once you are infected, there is no effective way to remove the virus from the body,” he said. “When the virus replicates in liver cells, it causes cycles of cellular damage, inflammation and tissue regeneration, resulting in the accumulation of genetic mutations and liver cancer.”
HBV is 50 to 100 times more infectious than the HIV virus, according to WHO officials. In China and other parts of Asia, most people acquire HBV during childhood and 8 to 10 percent of the adult population is chronically infected. “Because of this, understanding how HBV and HBx cause pathogenesis can have dramatic clinical impact,” said Xue.
Funding for the two PNAS studies was provided by the National Institutes of Health grants F30 NS070596 and R01 GM059083, GM079097, GM088241 and GM084027. Additional funding came from the China National Science Foundation and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
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Boulder police look for suspect, possible witness, in 2011 sex assault
0August 9, 2012
Boulder police continue to investigate an alleged sex assault that took place on July 16, 2011, around 4:30 a.m. in the area of 28th and Baseline.
The victim was 18 years old at the time of the attack, and she was walking alone along the 28th St. frontage road. She told police she was grabbed from behind and then sexually assaulted. Her arm, which was previously broken, was broken again during the assault.
Police are looking for the suspect, who is a light-skinned black male with green eyes and glasses. He is described as being between 18 and 22 years old, 6’0” tall with a medium build. He wore his hair in a 3-inch long light brown afro, and may have had a pick in his hair. At the time of the assault, he wore a purple shirt with neon green lettering, and khaki pants.
Police are also looking for a possible witness to the assault. According to the victim, a blonde, white male in his 20’s may have been walking by at the time of the attack, and may have seen or heard the incident. He may not have realized that a sexual assault was taking place.
Police would like to talk to this potential witness, and are asking him to come forward. Police are also continuing to try to identify the suspect.
The case number is 11-8876.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Brian Scott at 303-441-3381. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
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Police release suspect sketch in alleged kidnapping/sex assault case
0July 31, 2012
Boulder police are releasing a sketch of one of the suspects in an alleged kidnapping/sex assault that took place early Sunday morning in the area of 17th and Arapahoe.
The victim contacted one of her friends by phone after 4:30 a.m. to report the assault/abduction. The friend notified police, and officers found the victim at a pay phone in the area of 28th and Arapahoe. Officers took her to the hospital for treatment.
The female victim told police that she was forced into a vehicle by two unknown males. She says she was taken to a residence and sexually assaulted by the suspects. She told investigators she was able to escape when the suspects left the room. She then went to a pay phone to call one of her friends, who told authorities where she could be located.
The victim gave limited descriptions of the men she says assaulted her. Both men are white males, possibly in their forties. One of the men is described as being 6’1” tall, with brown eyes and a “big gut.” The other man is approximately 5’10” tall with blue eyes, and “skinny.”
The victim described the vehicle as a blue SUV, possibly a Ford Explorer or Expedition, with a light or gray-colored cloth interior. If anyone saw a vehicle matching that description in area of the Hotel Boulderado Saturday night or Sunday morning, or saw two men matching the above description, police would like to speak with them.
The case number is 12-10138.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Carey Lutz at 303-441-4374. Those who have information but who wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
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“Hysteria” about the Singular Most Popular Sex Toy
0June 23, 2012
“Singular Most Popular Sex Toy”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Hysteria is about the invention of a device that is widely used, but not commonly discussed, and when it is, usually there are snickers and Monty Python nudges of “Know what I mean? Know what I mean?”
And I am not talking about the candy bar.
The word “hysteria” comes from the Greek word meaning a woman’s womb, and in the 1800s when it was used to mean a psychoneurosis marked by emotional excitability and disturbances of the psychic, sensory, and visceral functions leading to behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unimaginable fear or emotional excess, doctors in England believed that behavior in women was caused by their uterus, and the way to treat them and to cure that behavior was to apply stimulation to the woman’s organ.
What I don’t understand is why any woman paid a doctor to treat her that way for the all-purpose catchword of hysteria would go back to him and pay him again for treatment when she could just treat herself at home for free.
All puns intended.
The story begins in 1880 in London, and Hugh Dancy plays Dr. Mortimer Granville.
Dr. Granville interviews for the job as assistant to Dr. Robert Dalrymple, who asks Dr Granville, “But tell me, Doctor, what do you know of hysteria?”
Dr. Dalrymple says that the work of treating women for hysteria is tedious and boring, but Dalrymple is London’s leading specialist in women’s medicine, and his waiting room is always full of women waiting to be treated by him.
Know what I mean? Know what I mean?
Dr. Dalrymple has two daughters, Emily and Charlotte, who is played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and they, too, are doctors. Emily lives at home and is a phrenologist, or a scientist who feels the bumps on someone’s head, which determines the person’s mental faculties and character.
Charlotte, however, is at odds with her father, because she is always borrowing money to keep her Settlement House in the East End open, where she treats poor people and many women and children. When we first meet Charlotte, she is having an argument with her father and storms out of his office, slamming every door behind her.
Hysteria takes too long to get started, could use some good editing, but eventually gets around to the discovery of the singular most popular sex toy.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
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Detoxing, Paranoia and Help: Only for people who feel nuts when they smoke pot.
0April 19, 2012
I feel Paranoid when I smoke weed.
Short answer : don’t do it. You are having a strong mental health reaction to it.
What are the bad effects of marijuana? can it cause paranoia?
Working in a psychiatric ward you will very often see patients with a first onset of paranoia or other psychotic symptoms after a chronic use of cannabis. A recent research paper discussed the following hypotheses for a possible relationship:
I feel crazy when I smoke pot.
- There is a causal relationship between cannabis use and schizophrenia (psychotic disorders).
- The cannabis use precipitates schizophrenia in vulnerable persons.
- Cannabis use exacerbates schizophrenia -> symptoms are more severe.
- Patients with psychotic disorders are more liable to abuse cannabis
This Australian study found a rise in the prevalence of cannabis use and a decrease of the age at the beginning of regular cannabis consumption over the last 30 years. They found no clear increase of the prevalence of schizophrenia in Australia in this time span. We know that cannabis abuse is rather common among patients with schizophrenia, maybe sometimes a rather bad attempt to cope with psychotic symptoms or irritability or hallucinations.
So the authors of this study think that cannabis use is not the main causal factor for the incidence of schizophrenia, but seems to precipitate the onset of psychotic symptoms / paranoia for vulnerable persons. So if you have a high vulnerability for schizophrenia the abuse of cannabis will most likely lead to severe paranoia and a worse outcome!
The co-occurrence of substance abuse and schizophrenia is one of the worst problems in psychiatry! It is very difficult to offer a good treatment approach for this group of patients. Special treatment programs are available for schizophrenic patients with cannabis dependence or other types of substance abuse.
by: Martin Winkler from Web4Health
The health risks of this long-term use are:
- In some cases high quantity users can experience feelings of anxiety, depression and be seriously unwell.
- Cannabis influences driving ability.
- Smoking cannabis causes carcinogens to enter the body.
- During pregnancy, cannabis can have negative consequences for the fetus.
- Long-term use of cannabis may affect thinking, emotions and feelings.
- In some cases, long-term use of cannabis can lead to dependence and abuse.
- Cannabis can provoke a psychosis in people who are sensitive to it. More.
- Some researchers are of the opinion that:
- Cannabis is a first step to the use of hard drugs.
- Cannabis has negative effects on the immune system.
- Cannabis influences fertility.
- Cannabis causes schizophrenia. More.
- Cannabis leads to apathy and loss of interest.
- Cannabis can cause anger, especially when trying to stop using Cananabis.
by Wendy Moelker, psychologist Netherlands
DETOXING FROM MARIJUANA
What is Detoxing?
Detoxing is the way in which your body gets rid of the toxins accumulated from years of using. It happens the first few days or weeks after getting clean and/or sober. It is also the very beginning of getting used to dealing with reality and real feelings with no numbing agent.
Can there be physical effects from quitting marijuana?
In spite of numerous years of being told that there are no physiological effects from marijuana addiction, many of our recovering members have had definite withdrawal symptoms. Whether the causes are physical or psychological, the results are physical. Others have just had emotional and mental changes as they stop using their drug of choice. There is no way of telling before quitting who will be physically uncomfortable and who will not. Most members have only minor physical discomfort if any at all. This pamphlet is for those who are having trouble and wonder what’s happening to them.
Why do some effects last so long?
Unlike most other drugs, including alcohol, THC (the active chemical in marijuana) is stored in the fat cells and therefore takes longer to fully clear the body than with any other common drug. This means that some parts of the body still retain THC even after a couple of months, rather than just the couple of days or weeks for water soluble drugs.
Can this affect a drug test?
The experiences of some members have shown that if you quit marijuana and expect to take a drug test you should not go on a crash diet at the same time. Fasting, or a crash diet, can release the THC into the bloodstream very rapidly and can give a positive reading. This has happened to several of our members, but each time only with crash diets and major weight loss, not with just eating less than usual.
What are some of the more common symptoms?
By far the most common symptom of withdrawal is insomnia. This can last from a few nights of practically no sleep at all, up to a few months of occasional sleeplessness. The next most common symptom is depression (that is, if you’re not euphoric), and next are nightmares and vivid dreams. Marijuana use tends to dampen the dreaming mechanism, so that when you do get clean the dreams come back with a crash. They can be vivid color, highly emotional dreams or nightmares, even waking up then coming back to the same dream. The very vivid, every-night dreams usually don’t start for about a week or so. They last for about a month at most and then taper off. “Using” dreams (dreams involving the use of marijuana) are very common, and although they’re not as vivid or emotional as at first, they last for years and are just considered a normal part of recovery.
The fourth most common symptom is anger. This can range from a slow burning rage to constant irritability to sudden bursts of anger when least expected: anger at the world, anger at loved ones, anger at oneself, anger at being an addict and having to get clean. Emotional jags are very common, with emotions bouncing back and forth between depression, anger, and euphoria. Occasionally experienced is a feeling of fear or anxiety, a loss of the sense of humor, decreased sex drive, or increased sex drive. Most all of these symptoms fade to normal emotions by three months. Loss of concentration for the first week or month is also very common and this sometimes affects the ability to learn for a very short while.
What about physical symptoms?
The most common physical symptom is headaches. For those who have them, they can last for a few weeks up to a couple of months, with the first few days being very intense. The next most common physical symptom is night sweats, sometimes to the point of having to change night clothes. They can last from a few nights to a month or so. Sweating is one of the body’s natural ways of getting rid of toxins. Hand sweats are very common and are often accompanied by an unpleasant smell from the hands. Body odor is enough in many instances to require extra showers or baths. Coughing up phlegm is another way the body cleans itself. This can last for a few weeks to well over six months.
One third of the addicts who responded to a questionnaire on detoxing said they had eating problems for the first few days and some for up to six weeks. Their main symptoms were loss of appetite, sometimes enough to lose weight temporarily, digestion problems or cramps after eating, and nausea, occasionally enough to vomit (only for a day or two). Most of the eating problems were totally gone before the end of a month.
The next most common physical symptoms experienced were tremors or shaking and dizziness. Less frequently experienced were kidney pains, impotency, hormone changes or imbalances, low immunity or chronic fatigue, and some minor eye problems that resolved at around two months. There have been cases of addicts having more severe detox symptoms, however this is rare. For intense discomfort, see a doctor, preferably one who is experienced with detoxing.
How can I reduce discomfort?
For some of the milder detoxing symptoms, a few home remedies have proven to be useful:
Hot soaking baths can help the emotions as well as the body.
Drink plenty of water and clear liquids, just like for the flu.
Cranberry juice has been used effectively for years by recovery houses to help purify and cleanse the body.
Really excessive sweating can deplete the body of potassium, a necessary mineral. A few foods high in potassium are: melons, bananas, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, and tomatoes
Eliminate fat from the diet until digestion is better.
Greatly reduce or eliminate caffeine until the sleep pattern is more normal or the shakes are gone.
The old fashioned remedy for insomnia, a glass of warm milk before bedtime, helps some people.
Exercise not only helps depression and other unpleasant emotions, it helps the body speed up the healing process.
by Marijuana Anonymous
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#CU study: Beetle hyper sex drive killing the forest
0March 15, 2012
Discovery of pine beetles breeding twice in a year
helps explain increasing damage, CU researchers say
Long thought to produce only one generation of tree-killing offspring annually, some populations of mountain pine beetles now produce two generations per year, dramatically increasing the potential for the bugs to kill lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees, University of Colorado Boulder researchers have found.
Because of the extra annual generation of beetles, there could be up to 60 times as many beetles attacking trees in any given year, their study found. And in response to warmer temperatures at high elevations, pine beetles also are better able to survive and attack trees that haven’t previously developed defenses.
These are among the key findings of Jeffry Mitton, a CU-Boulder professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Scott Ferrenberg, a graduate student in that department. The study is being published this month in The American Naturalist.
This exponential increase in the beetle population might help to explain the scope of the current beetle epidemic, which is the largest in history and extends from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico to the Yukon Territory near Alaska.
“This thing is immense,” Mitton said. The duo’s research, conducted in 2009 and 2010 at CU’s Mountain Research Station, located about 25 miles west of Boulder, helps explain why.
“We followed them through the summer, and we saw something that had never been seen before,” Mitton said. “Adults that were newly laid eggs two months before were going out and attacking trees” — in the same year. Normally, mountain pine beetles spend a winter as larvae in trees before emerging as adults the following summer.
These effects may be particularly pronounced at higher elevations, where warmer temperatures have facilitated beetle attacks. In the last two decades at the Mountain Research Station, mean annual temperatures were 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than they were in the previous two decades.
Warmer temperatures gave the beetle larvae more spring days to grow to adulthood. The number of spring days above freezing temperatures increased by 15.1 in the last two decades, Mitton and Ferrenberg report. Also, the number of days that were warm enough for the beetles to grow increased by 44 percent since 1970.
The Mountain Research Station site is about 10,000 feet in elevation, 1,000 feet higher than the beetles have historically thrived. In their study, Mitton and Ferrenberg emphasize this anomaly.
“While our study is limited in area, it was completed in a site that was characterized as climatically unsuitable for (mountain pine beetle) development by the U.S. Forest Service only three decades ago,” they write.
But in 25 years, the beetles have expanded their range 2,000 feet higher in elevation and 240 miles north in latitude in Canada, Mitton said.
Ferrenberg had the idea to monitor the beetles at higher elevations partly because trees at lower elevations have been attacked by beetles for centuries and have developed some defenses.
Lodgepole pines at higher elevations tended to have a lower density of resin ducts, which transport resin, the sole defense against beetles. The number of resin ducts in a tree can be a “marker” for whether a tree has a higher or lower resistance to a beetle attack, Ferrenberg said.
The trees at higher elevations had not faced the same intensity of beetle attacks as those at lower elevations until temperatures warmed, and they have not faced pressures of natural selection exerted by attacking beetles. “The trees in that area are somewhat naïve in their response,” Ferrenberg said.
These data help explain why westbound motorists emerging from the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 can look up, from 11,000 feet in elevation, and see beetle-killed trees. “We think we see some of the reason for the fact that this epidemic is so widespread,” Mitton said.
The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
More on this story will appear in the next edition of Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine at http://artsandsciences.colorado.edu/magazine/
Source: Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine
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“Wanderlust” Has Happiest Ending Ever
0March 11, 2012
“Happiest Ending Ever”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Wanderlust stars Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston in what is not so much a romantic comedy as it is just a happy comedy, if there is such a classification.
In fact, the plot is as simple as “Boy has girl, boy almost loses girl, boy and girl stay together.”
However, what makes the movie interesting is where most of the story takes place, which is in a hippie commune that was started in 1971.
George and Linda are a young married couple in New York City whose professional lives take a sudden turn for the worse, and so they decide to pull up stakes and move to Atlanta, where George’s brother and his family live.
After a long drive, Linda insists that she has to get out of the car, and so they drive into a place with a sign that identifies it as “Elysium,” where they are greeted by a slightly overweight, naked man.
Startled, George tries to drive away, but he wrecks the car, and they are forced to stay there in what the residents call an “intentional community.”
When they introduce themselves to the group, George is asked, “If you’re George, where is John, Paul, and Ringo?”
The group claims that they have no leaders, that Mother Earth is the only leader they need, and there are no rules, just the way they all think about stuff.
In addition, there are no doors, even on the bathrooms, all the members share everything, and they believe in open sexual boundaries, which means that anything goes and with anyone.
At first, George likes living there more than Linda does, saying that he feels like he can breathe there for the first time, but then Linda starts to enjoy it more than George does, even though the most attractive woman in the group tells George that she believes that they should have sex together.
The scene in which George tries to prepare himself by boosting his confidence in front of a mirror is one of the funniest in the movie.
However, the plot turns weak when one of the oldest cliches in the world of movie plots occurs, that of developers wanting to take over the land and develop it into something else.
Wanderlust, though, has the happiest ending ever, and make sure you stay for the outtakes.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
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“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Definitely Not for Everyone
0January 14, 2012
“Definitely Not for Everyone”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Tinker Tailof Soldier Spy appears as if the title is missing some obvious punctuation, which is an excellent metaphor for this excellent adaptation of the 1974 novel by British author John le Carre, which many audience members will also claim is missing details.
So, prepare to be confused, but also prepare to be thrilled if you make it to the end and then start thinking about it afterwards, because you cannot lose your concentration or let your mind wander for just one second while you are watching it.
Even so, this film is so convoluted that you are still not sure what all happens and what everything means, which is another excellent metaphor for the spy business back in the Cold War of the 1970s.
In fact, the director, Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson, said this in an interview about the film: “We tried to give as little information as possible. When you create music or theater or film that fits everyone, the quality and the personal touch can get lost.”
So, not only do we get as little information as possible, but there are also many scenes that are disjointed with no beginnings or ends, and the story is not told chronologically, but contains many shifts back and forth in time.
The story begins in 1973 with a British intelligence mission in Hungary that ends in failure. Consequently, the head of the British intelligence agency, MI6, who is called “Control” and played by John Hurt, is forced to resign, along with his Number 2 man, George Smiley, who is played by Gary Oldman.
However, not long after that, Smiley is called back into MI6 for a specific mission: to find a mole at the high level of MI6, who was planted there by the Russians.
Control had been working on discovering the mole himself before he left, and he had narrowed the mole’s identity down to five possibilities, whom he had referred to by the code names Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, and Spy.
In his investigation, Smiley learns that the fifth man whom Control suspected was Smiley himself.
So, are you up for a suspense thriller that does not contain any car chases or loud explosions, but does contain sex, nudity, murder, and intrigue?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a thinking person’s film that is definitely not for everyone.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
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“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Swedish Version Better
0January 1, 2012
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
“Swedish Version Better”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the Hollywood version, is out only 1-1/2 years after the Swedish version was released in the U.S., and if you didn’t see that version, you might think that this newer one is pretty good.
Daniel Craig plays investigative journalist Mikael Blomqvist, and Rooney Mara has replaced Noomi Repace as Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo on her back, and the similarity of the actresses’ names can be confusing, just as the story can be for new audiences.
Spoiler Alert! If you have read the book on which both movies are based or if you saw the Swedish movie and managed to read the subtitles and watch the action at the same time, then you already know how this one ends, unless you have forgotten some of the convoluted details.
The movie cuts back and forth between Lisbeth and Mikael for the longest time before they ever get together to solve the crime that is the basis of the mystery, and once they do, Lisbeth says, “I like working with you,” to which Mikael replies, “I like working with you, too.”
This exchange is amusing, considering what happens just before they say that, but for the most part the movie is serious, grim, and graphic in its sex, violence, and nudity.
Mikael has been hired by a wealthy industrialist to figure out what happened to his niece, Harriet, who was 16 back in 1966 when she disappeared from the remote island on which the industrialist’s dysfunctional family all live.
Harriet’s disappearance was especially mysterious, because her body was never found, and an accident on the bridge to the island prevented anyone from getting on or off the island.
Meanwhile, Lisbeth has problems of her own in her personal life, she has a history of committing violence, and although she claims that she has taken care of herself since she was 10, she has a guardian from whom she gets her money to live on.
Lisbeth is an experienced researcher, an accomplished computer hacker, and her appearance is, shall we say, “extreme,” although I liked her appearance better in the Swedish version. Her dragon tattoo is better in the Swedish version, too.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the Hollywood version, is just not as good as the Swedish version.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
