| Leafy Reaching Higher |
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| Founded | Oakland, California, U.S. (2007)[1] |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Oakland, California |
| Key people | Richard Lee |
| Employees | 23 |
| Website | OaksterdamUniversity.com |
Oaksterdam University is a non-accredited for-profit educational facility and "political institution" founded in November 2007 by medical marijuana activist Richard Lee to offer training for the cannabis industry, with a mission to "legitimize the business and work to change the law to make cannabis legal".[2][1] Its main campus is located in the Oaksterdam area of Downtown Oakland, California. There are also campuses in Los Angeles, Sebastopol, and Michigan.
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Activist Richard Lee was inspired to create Oaksterdam University after visiting the Cannabis College in Amsterdam. Lee recalled:
"In November of 2006 I visited Amsterdam and saw the Cannabis College there. I've seen in California that there are not enough good people who want to work in the cannabis industry in a professional way, who want to pay taxes and obey regulations and help improve their community. I came back from Amsterdam and the idea just popped into the back of my head..."[1]
Amsterdam is the model for the World.
The university offered its first classes to 22 students in November 2007.[1] As of November 2009, the university has granted certificates of completion to 6,000 students.[2]
The university's curriculum reaches all aspects of the medical marijuana industry, from horticulture to legal issues.[3][4][5]
Tuition is $250 for a basic course, a series of weekend seminars which includes lessons and lectures on politics, legal issues, horticulture, as well as business management. Also, a semester schedule is offered for $700.[1][6]
Opposition to the university has been shown by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which claims the school "sends the wrong message in the country's fight against drugs and promotes criminal activity."[6]