Spiced-up Drug Laws?: Proponents of classifying synthetic marijuana products with names like “Spice,” “K2,” and “Red X Dawn,” and a plant called salvia in a category of drugs more restrictive than cocaine made their case to the state Legislature on Wednesday (Denver Daily News). Critics argued the tougher rules would turn users into felons bound for prisons and are unnecessary since it has not been proven the products lead to chronic abuse.

Sandal Swindler: A pair of American Indian basket-maker sandals valued at more than $1,000, along with dug-up human remains, pottery shards, and a knife, could cost Carl L. Crites, a Durango antiques dealer, 22 years in prison. Crites pleaded guilty in a Salt Lake City court to three felony counts of trafficking, theft, and depredation of government property, after getting nabbed by feds in a sting (Associated Press).

McKnight Goes Deep: CU’s all-time leader in receptions and touchdowns, Scotty McKnight, didn’t get invited to the NFL combine, so when scouts came to Boulder on Wednesday, he tried to impress them by running crisp routes and catching passes from childhood friend and NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez (Denver Post).

Alpacas Ahoy: The Rockies must look a lot like the Andes. Denver will play host to the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association’s three-day show and auction in May. The wool-like alpaca fiber is so popular that there are 160,000 registered alpacas in North America (Denver Business Journal).

Dangerous Conditions: The Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel plant in Pueblo faces nearly $50,000 in fines for numerous violations, including for rotating machine parts that pose an amputation hazard. The plant, cited for a similar reason in July 2009, has hazards that are “well-recognized in the industry,” according to OSHA (Pueblo Chieftain). Evraz officials said they will work with OSHA officials to correct any safety problems.

Karl Beams Over New Contract: Denver Nuggets coach George Karl didn’t say much the other day when the team announced his new contract. But the media caught up with him Wednesday, and the Associated Press reports he couldn’t be happier.