In the past eight months, over 7,000 people have been murdered in the Philippines, stupefying the rest of the human-rights conscious world. 

“If Germany had Hitler, The Philippines would have…” Roderigo Duterte declared last September, pointing at himself. “Hitler massacred three million Jews … there’s three million drug addicts. There are. I’d be happy to slaughter them.”

Municipal officials worry that allowing medical dispensaries to set up shop will eventually end up sticking towns with unwanted recreational dispensaries.

The regulatory woes are hitting Massachusetts. Lawmakers in the Bay State have been trying to amend the voter approved recreational cannabis legalization law since it passed in November, and the lack of clarity is now taking a toll on the state’s existing medical marijuana community.

If you’ve got more than a few questions about California’s new recreational cannabis policy, you’re certainly not the only one. Millions somewhat naively expected to wake up January 1 with a booming recreational cannabis industry blossoming all around them. In reality, things aren’t nearly as simple.

Quite to the contrary, Proposition 64 is a 62-page-long document that goes into immense detail as to how, when and by whom the new commercial cannabis industry will be controlled. It’s a pretty complex document to say the least, but for the most part, it doesn’t have a great deal of relevance to the average citizen. Or cannabis tourist, for that matter.

Colorado was set Monday to outlaw marijuana growing co-ops soon after the state Senate unanimously approved a bill making it a crime to for people to cultivate adult-use cannabis for other people.

The bill supported by the office Gov. John Hickenlooper passed 35-0 but it was unclear when he would sign it.

There are no state estimates on how many collective recreational marijuana growing operations exist in Colorado, though they are popular among users who share the cost of electricity, water and fertilizer to grow their cannabis.

Colorado legalized recreational marijuana in 2012, but it has a nagging black-market problem. Law enforcement and state lawmakers attribute the black-market problem in part to weak restrictions on who can grow pot.

Investors in marijuana companies such as Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX:WEED) are betting big on the creation of a legal recreational market in Canada.

Let?s take a look the current situation to see if this is a good time to own these stocks.

Scary valuations

Valuations for marijuana companies are far beyond reason, given the current state of the market.

For example, medical marijuana market leader Canopy Growth reported revenue of about $10 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2016. The company continues to expand at a healthy rate, but that simply isn?t enough to justify a market capitalization of $1.6 billion.

With long-awaited marijuana legislation set to be announced next week, the federal government is having second thoughts about legalizing cannabis on Canada Day.

The Trudeau government still plans to go ahead with its plan to make weed legal for recreational use. But a senior government source says the initial target of July 1, 2018 as the implementation date will be changed to "on or before July 1, 2018."

The change reflects some internal concerns over legalizing a recreational drug on the country's birthday. Bill Blair, the Liberal government's point man on pot, told the Canadian Press he wanted the focus of Canada Day to be Canada — not cannabis. 

As marijuana becomes legal in more and more places, it’s becoming bigger and bigger business. As something that generates tens of millions in tax revenue, it makes sense that a university would eventually offer a course on the weed business. That’s just what Professor Paul Seaborn at the University of Denver has done. Last week, he launched what KGUN is reporting is the first-ever college course on the economics of marijuana.

Appropriately called “The Business of Marijuana,” the class makes the University of Denver the first AACB-accredited business school in the country to offer a marijuana course. Seaborn first pitched the idea to the university last year.

The public tide on marijuana is turning, and it’s time for our politicians go with the flow.

Two Illinois legislators introduced twin bills in the state House and Senate last month that would make Illinois the first state in the midwest and the ninth countrywide to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana. People 21 and older would be able to possess, grow and buy up to an ounce of marijuana, and businesses would be licensed to sell marijuana products under regulation.

Bill supporters estimate legalizing recreational marijuana would generate $350 million to $700 million in tax revenue, which could help ease the budget crisis that has plagued Illinois for years.

April 2017 will mark the first time that Coachella, one of the United States’ top musical festivals, will occur in a state where recreational marijuana is legal. While cannabis remains illegal federally speaking, California voters passed Proposition 64 in November of 2016, which allows residents to buy, use, and possess cannabis.

Professional and retired mainstream athletes are already using forms of cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) for acute and long-term pain management. So are extreme athletes, who are known to have high rates of impact injuries, ready for some alternative medicine too?

According to a recent study in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, the four extreme sports with the highest incidences of head and neck injuries are skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing and motocross. The study also showed that snowboarders face the highest risk of concussion, with a risk per hour of riding that’s triple that of skiers.