- Oaksterdam University
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Coordinates: 37°48′27.42″N 122°16′8.29″W / 37.8076167°N 122.2689694°W
Oaksterdam University Leafy
Reaching HigherFounded 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.
Contents
History
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]
Curriculum and Tuition
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
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]
References
- ^ a b c d e Whiting, Sam (April 6, 2008). "Richard Lee's Oaksterdam U will teach you all you need to know about the weed business". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2008/04/06/CMQ7UH8IO.DTL. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
- ^ a b Klein, Karen (November 10, 2009). "The Medical Marijuana Business Matures". BusinessWeek. McGraw-Hill. p. 1–2. http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2009/sb20091110_969628.htm. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
- ^ Berton, Justin (April 21, 2008). "Marijuana 101: School teaches ins, outs of pot". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/04/21/MNR5107CP0.DTL. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
- ^ Berton, Justin (April 21, 2008). "Marijuana 101: School teaches ins, outs of pot". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/04/21/MNR5107CP0.DTL.
- ^ "School Offers Classes on Cooking with Pot". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88012599. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ^ a b Ioffee, Karina (June 4, 2008). "Marijuana university offers 'higher' education". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. http://news.smh.com.au/world/marijuana-university-offers-higher-education-20080604-2lfx.html. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
External links
Categories:- Education in Oakland, California
- Universities and colleges in Alameda County, California
- Educational institutions established in 2007
- For-profit universities and colleges in the United States
- Medicinal use of cannabis organizations based in the United States
- Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in California
- Western United States university stubs
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