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You know you're in a different kind of college when a teaching assistant
sets five marijuana plants down in the middle of a lab and no one blinks a
bloodshot eye.
Welcome to Oaksterdam University, a new trade school where "higher
education" takes on a whole new meaning.
The school prepares people for jobs in California's thriving medical
marijuana industry.
For $200 and the cost of two required textbooks, students learn how to
cultivate and cook with cannabis, study which strains of pot are best for
certain ailments, and are instructed in the legalities of a business that is
against the law in the eyes of the federal government.
The only prerequisite for the course is a Politics/Legal Issues 101 class.
"My basic idea is to try to professionalize the industry and have it taken
seriously as a real industry, just like beer and distilling hard alcohol,"
said Richard Lee, 45, an activist and pot-dispensary owner who founded the
school in a downtown storefront last fall.
"At Oaksterdam University, we strive to provide the highest quality training
in all aspects of the cannabis industry, so that you will be prepared to
find employment in one of the hundreds of cannabis dispensaries in
California or start one of your own," Lee tells students in a letter
attached to the application form.
So far, 60 students have completed the two-day weekend course, which is sold
out through May. At the end of the class, students are given a take-home
test, with the highest scorer -- make that "top scorer" -- earning the title
of class valedictorian.
Before getting to Horticulture 101, the hands-on highlight of Oaksterdam U,
the 20 budding botanists, entrepreneurs and political activists at a recent
weekend session sat politely through two law lectures and a visiting
professor's history talk.
"We strive to provide the highest quality training in all aspects of
the cannabis industry ... "
-Richard Lee, President, Oaksterdam U
In the lab, Lee measured plant food into a plastic garbage can and explained
how, with common sense, upgraded electrical outlets, a fan and an air
filter, students can grow pot at home for fun, health, public service -- or
profit.
Lee explained to his students how to prune and harvest plants, handing the
clipping shears to a woman who wasn't sure how close to the stalk to cut
without damaging it. He offered his thoughts on which commercial nutrient
preparations are best, as well as the advantages of hydroponics, or
soil-free gardening.
During a discussion of neighbor relations, he warned against setting booby
traps to keep curious kids out of outdoor gardens.
Students gave various reasons for enrolling.
Some said they were simply curious. Others said they wanted tips for growing
their own weed, although judging from the questions, a few were ready for
the graduate seminar Lee recently added to the curriculum.
Jeff Sanders, 52, said he has been buying medical marijuana since 2003 but
wants to open a dispensary in the San Joaquin Valley because he doesn't like
having to drive up to San Francisco and paying the markup.
"I see it as a good thing. You are giving back to the community," Sanders
said.
Patrick O'Shaughnessy, 37, said he started smoking pot regularly for the
first time about a year ago to treat his chronic migraines, depression and
anxiety.
After attending class, he said he felt more confident about growing his own,
which he wants to do because the dispensary he frequents often sells out of
his favorite strain.
Oaksterdam U draws its name from the jokey nickname for a section of Oakland
where some of California's earliest medical marijuana dispensaries took
root. The nickname in turn was inspired by the city of Amsterdam, in
Holland, where pot use is tolerated.
At one point, the Oaksterdam neighborhood had at least 15 clubs and coffee
shops selling pot, a number that dwindled to four when the city started
issuing permits and collecting taxes from them a few years ago.
"I hope that you take full advantage of our classes and that they help you
to contribute to the tremendous growth of this industry," Lee said in a
letter addressed to potential students.
California was the first of a dozen states that have legalized marijuana use
for patients with a doctor's recommendation.
Despite periodic raids by federal drug agents and the threat of prosecution,
clubs and cooperatives where customers can buy marijuana have proliferated;
California has 300 to 400, according to advocacy groups.
Entry-level workers are paid a little more than minimum wage, while "bud
tenders," can make more than $50,000 a year, and owners and top managers
more than $100,000, Lee said. But there's also a certain amount of risk --
and not just financial, but legal.
Michael Chapman, an assistant agent in charge with the Drug Enforcement
Administration's San Francisco office, said authorities are aware of
Oaksterdam U and don't see any reason to shut it down.
Talking about marijuana is not illegal, and while a small amount of pot is
kept on the premises, the DEA tries "to concentrate our case work on the
most significant violators," he said.
Still, Chapman said he doesn't like Lee's effort to wrap cannabis education
in a cap and gown.
"I think they are sending the wrong message out to the community, and it's
something that could only facilitate criminal behavior," he said.
If you're interested in classes at Oaksterdam University, you better hurry.
There are only 16 seats left for the June session.
The university's gift shop sells T-shirts, jackets, lighters and books,
including one called "The Big Book Of Buds" by the self-proclaimed Guru of
Ganja, Ed Rosenthal.
Copyright 2008 by
KNBC.com and KNBC (NBC4 Los Angeles). The Associated Press
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