Oaksterdam University: Putting the High in Higher Education

Oaksterdam University: Putting the High in Higher Education

If you wish to work in the (ahem) growing field of Marijuana cultivation and distribution, you’ll be happy to know there’s a university where you can learn every angle of the trade.

Oaksterdam University in Oakland, California offers a full range of Cannabis related studies.

NBC4 reports:

Oakland University offers marijuana education

With California voters getting ready to decide whether or not to allow adults to use marijuana recreationally, would-be entrepreneurs are looking to possibly cash in on what some consider to be the state’s next gold rush.

KRON4 spent the day at Oaksterdam University in Oakland where students are pursuing a different kind of higher education.

The university is America’s first college dedicated solely to cannabis. Over a 14-week semester in the hands-on lab, students are learning about pot from roots to buds–and the business side of this growing industry.

Like other colleges, there is homework, grades, and tests.

Once they pass their course and pass their final exam, the students will walk away with one of two certificates. A basic certification means they can grow their own cannabis, cook with it, and extract it.

An advanced degree means they can go into business.

In Thursday’s class, those from California say the upcoming vote on whether or not to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use was partly the motivation for taking this course.

Here’s a video report:

According to the university’s website, the school was founded in 2007:

History of Oaksterdam University

Oaksterdam University was founded in November 2007. Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University, placed a provocative advertisement in the East Bay Express proclaiming “Cannabis Industry Now Hiring.” Lee had wanted to open a trade school for the cannabis industry ever since visiting the cannabis college in Amsterdam.

Rather than emulate the college in Amsterdam where curriculum mainly surrounds horticulture, Lee decided to expand upon the idea and create a curriculum that focuses on the entire cannabis trade. Wanting to further legitimize the cannabis industry, Lee’s school quickly gained the attention of local, national, and even international media.

The result of this advertisement was over 200 phone calls in the first week, inquiring about this new and innovative trade school. Of those 200 callers, 20 lucky and trailblazing students packed into a small classroom in Oaksterdam located on 15th Street.

This is a promotional video for the school:

Here’s the ironic part: Due to the school’s reasonable tuition and its ability to train students to work in an up and coming industry, graduates of Oaksterdam University will have better career prospects than students who shell out $50,000 per year at a more traditional university for a degree in something like gender studies.

Featured image via YouTube.

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