The first medical cannabis law in the US was a direct result of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Little was understood about the virus or the resulting disease, except that it caused severe pain, nausea, and wasting syndrome. San Francisco’s gay community was an early epicenter of the dramatic surge in cases that escalated into a crisis throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
One of Oaksterdam’s first instructors, Dennis Peron, was a key leader of the cannabis reform movement in San Francisco during the AIDS epidemic. Originally from the Bronx, New York, Peron moved to San Francisco after serving in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. Peron operated underground dispensaries throughout the 1970s. He went on to lead the first successful city-level effort to legalize medical use in San Francisco in 1991.
In 1996, Oaksterdam founders and instructors, including Dennis, worked together to put medical cannabis on the ballot for California voters. The Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215) was passed, and California became the first state to legalize medical use. Instead of creating a regulatory framework, it enshrined the right to use cannabis for medicinal purposes in state law. Dennis Peron would go on to (controversially) oppose adult use legalization (even butting heads with Oaksterdam co-founder Richard Lee when he ran the first adult use campaign in 2010) because he believed there was nothing left to legalize.
As Dennis put it, “All use is medical, and medical use is already legal.”
Some people dismissed Dennis’s words outright; others argued with him, and many agreed wholeheartedly. Whether or not you agree with him, what is clear is that the lines between “medical” and “adult use” are not clearly drawn. Some people obtain doctors’ recommendations simply for legal protection and dispensary access. Many people who frequent adult use dispensaries identify their primary reasons for use as therapeutic and turn to budtenders to help them navigate effects or alleviate symptoms.
Whether a dispensary and its products are considered “medical” depends mostly on government designations:
- According to a 2024 University of Michigan study, some of the biggest motivations for buying cannabis are therapeutic: 68% use it for sleep, 63% for pain, and 53% for mood and mental health reasons.
- According to the International Cannabis Policy Study, adult use consumers identify pain (53%) and sleep (46%) as primary reasons for use, and self-reported use for medical purposes was highest in adult use states.
- A 2019 study conducted at Medical University of South Carolina found that 47% of cannabis consumers said they use it for both medical and “recreational” reasons.
The line between medical and adult use cannabis consumption remains flimsy, forcing budtenders into the role of having to navigate medical questions and concerns, even in adult use dispensaries. How they address these questions and the guidance they provide are critical to safety, efficacy, compliance, and customer satisfaction.
Oaksterdam University trained the world’s first budtenders, and we continue to train the world’s best. We train everyone from entry-level budtenders to retail managers and owners. Train your team, or become an Oaksterdam-certified budtender today.
You’ll learn:
- The history of the cannabis plant and the evolution of current laws and regulations
- Federal Prohibition and the interaction with state, Tribal, and local governments
- The roles and responsibilities of a dispensary worker
- How to navigate product claims and certificates of analysis
- Cannabinoids, terpenes, and other cannabis constituents
- How to talk about dosage, methods of ingestion, and cultivars
- How to provide meaningful product guidance
- How to increase dispensary sales and customer satisfaction
Become an Oaksterdam-certified Budtender today! We also have state-specific budtender training programs available in California, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Utah. Interested in bulk or business pricing? Reach out to support@oaksterdamuniversity.com so we can customize a training plan for you.
Want to learn in person? Join us in Kansas City, Missouri, alongside the MJ Unpacked Conference on October 13!