The Cannabis Industry Starts Here
Oaksterdam University is the global leader in cannabis education, providing the highest quality training to entrepreneurs, regulators, educators, and people interested in a career in the cannabis industry.
At its inception, people traveled from all over the world to be part of the Oaksterdam community, physically centered in downtown Oakland, California. The training they received and the networks they built led many to become influential advocates, business and legislative leaders, and many of the industry’s “firsts.”
Oaksterdam’s reputation as the place to go to learn how to get into the emerging cannabis industry has led over 100,000 alumni from 116 countries to start here.
Oaksterdam co-founder Jeff Jones is shown in this picture providing the first legal bag of cannabis to multiple sclerosis patient Yvonne Westbrook in 1995. Jones was named an officer of the City of Oakland in his capacity with the Oakland Cannabis Buyer’s Cooperative and was briefly allowed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to distribute medical cannabis to patients. The US Supreme Court reversed the decision. The following year, Jones and other advocates in the San Francisco Bay Area successfully passed the first statewide medical cannabis law, Proposition 215.
We provide training for:
Job Seekers
Educators
Governments
Businesses
Oaksterdam founders, faculty, staff, and subject matter experts established the modern standards and business practices that define today’s cannabis industry and led the movement to relegalize and regulate cannabis. As the industry matures, our courses are continually refined and updated by subject matter experts considered leaders in their fields.
We offer certifications for individual learners seeking careers in the cannabis industry, workforce training that is customizable and state-specific, and help for entrepreneurs seeking to navigate the complex landscape of licensing and compliance.
Advocacy to end Prohibition and rebuild communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs is at the heart of who we are as an educational institution. Oaksterdam’s founders and faculty created the blueprint for self-regulation and legalization that has been replicated worldwide.
Oaksterdam leaders helped to advise, organize, and write multiple state ballot initiatives and countless legislation models for local governance. We have worked with various state and local governments to provide technical assistance to social equity initiatives.
Classes are developed by the industry leaders and advocates who shaped today’s industry. We deliver education with historical context and future insights that no other education provider can match.
Our Roots Go Deep
Oaksterdam University was founded by Richard Lee (front) in 2007. Lee launched cannabis legalization into mainstream politics when he funded and ran the first statewide adult use campaign, Proposition 19, in 2010. Dale Sky Jones (back), was the national spokeswoman for Proposition 19 and today is Oaksterdam’s president and chancellor.
Our founders established the first public cannabis businesses as early as 1995, one year before California became the first state to re-legalize the medical use of cannabis through voter initiative. Oaksterdam was formalized as an educational institution in downtown Oakland in 2007, and through community support and development, the City of Oakland embraced Oaksterdam and the industry early on, further cementing the San Francisco Bay Area as the epicenter of the global cannabis industry with Oaksterdam at the heart of the movement.
Oaksterdam founder Richard Lee spent over $1 million of his own money to fund a ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adult use in California, and the downtown Oakland campus became the de facto headquarters for the Proposition 19 campaign in 2010, the first adult use legalization initiative of the modern era. With voters divided over the details of “how” to legalize, Proposition 19 failed by 4 percent but kicked off the wave of legalization that spread through the US and worldwide.
The Federal Raid
Before dawn on April 2, 2012, dozens of federal agents raided the Oaksterdam campus and Lee’s apartment, taking all of the legal cannabis, curricula, and resources and forcing Lee to retire under threat of federal prosecution. Determined to keep Oaksterdam going, Dale Sky Jones took over as Executive Chancellor. Jones was an Oaksterdam faculty member, had launched the school’s Los Angeles campus, and was transitioning Oaksterdam’s classes online to reach more students worldwide, a mission she continues to this day. She opened the school for classes just two days after the raid and hasn’t looked back.
Global Training for Entrepreneurs, Workers, and Government
Oaksterdam has fully digitized the educational experience and expanded our educational initiatives to provide a wide range of training and services, including technical assistance for social equity programs, one-on-one coaching, job placement, and education customized to national, state, and local laws and regulations.
We have also worked with various universities, organizations, and government agencies, including the City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the Connecticut Social Equity Council, the Federal German Health Commission, the RAND Corporation, the Florida League of Cities, Kaiser Healthcare, the American Bar Association, and many more.
Find Us on the Cannabis Trail
See the place where legalization started: visit the Oaksterdam University and Nug landmark in downtown Oakland! The Cannabis Trail honors the pioneers, places, and moments that paved the way for legal cannabis access. Northern California is where the battle for legalized cannabis was waged. It’s an important story of human rights, patient access, and compassion. The Cannabis Trail honors the pioneers, places, and significant historical moments that paved the way for the legal cannabis access we have today.
The Cannabis Trail travels from Santa Cruz to Weaverville, California. It will exist as an iconic cultural and historical trail, and serve as a third pillar alongside the Marin Cheese Trail and the Napa Wine Road.
Oaksterdam DEIB Mission Statement
At Oaksterdam, a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment is one where all team members and students, whatever their race, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, color, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or identity, language ability, disability, veteran status, domestic partner status, marital status, parental status, AIDS/HIV status, height, weight, education, or socio-economic status feel valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equitable opportunity for access to education programs and collaborations, with a commitment to equal employment and advancement in all of our departments.
We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard. Oaksterdam University is committed to modeling diversity and inclusion for the entire cannabis industry and related sectors and maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all.
