The “Harvard of Hemp” is the first cannabis college in the US.
With recreational ganja now legal in 21 body politic plus Washington , DC , it ’s gamey time to inflict cannabis college , Oaksterdam University ( OU ) .
" The one affair all of our students have in mutual is a mania for the plant and the desire to study more about their place in this burgeoning industriousness , " said Wensdy Von Buskirk , Communication Specialist at OU . " Oaksterdam is a state of psyche , for those self - selecting to be future - quick , with programs more attainable from any gimmick in your life , and on your time . "
The absolute majority of the student are from the US and range in age from 18 to 86 . They enroll at OU to light up their careers in the sound marijuana industry . Some add up from life history in other industries , some are old - school day bequest trying to get compliant and others are entrance - level task - seekers .
Courtesy of Oaksterdam University
" I ’d want to open my own dispensary since 1999 and I felt attending a cannabis college would assist with that , " said Alphonso Blunt , Jr , owner of dispensaryBlunts & Mooreand who took OU ’s horticulture and patronage of cannabis class back in 2007 . Blunt is the first shameful equity owner of a cannabis retail store opened under Oakland ’s social equity program , which requires a portion of the cannabis permit go to applicant either prosecuted for weed - interrelate crime like Blunt , or were impact by the “ war on drug , ” a federal campaign that began in 1971 .
Tahir Johnsoncredits OU with helping him get into the cannabis industriousness . He guide a refinement course in 2018 and return to take a concern class in 2021 .
How Oaksterdam University Came to Be
The idea grew out of the medical marijuana movement in the 1990s afterJeff Joneswas raided by Union authorities for dispensing marihuana . He get down teach medical patients how to farm their own medication and crusade all the way to the Supreme Court for medical marijuana to become legal .
Jones passed the torch to his recollective - time friend and conjunctive agriculturist Richard Lee , who open Coffeeshop Blue Sky in Oakland with a dispensary licence and offered cannabis growing classes . Founded in 2007 , the unlicensed " Princeton of Pot " wasarrested in 2012 . After Lee retire , OU reopened and more than 80,000 students from 110 countries have taken course of study at OU since then , with more are rolling in as the cannabis industry grow .
Johnson wants to verify his employees are educate like him .
“ It ’s authoritative to me , " order Johnson , who hosts the podcast theCannabis Diversity Report . " I want them to have that same knowledge and skill set . ”
Choose the Classes and Type of Course You Want to Take
The course of instruction catalogue includes more than 25 elected classes , includingHome Grow , which instruct everything you call for to know to get marijuana indoors , outdoors , or in a nursery , together withConsuming Cannabis Safely , which extensively cover how cannabis involve the human body .
To put it bluntly , the online classesarelegitimate . There is a textbook and telecasting - base programme , practical gardening labs and practical field trip where owners take the air you through their grow operations , manufacturing facilities and dispensary lounges . class are taught by raiser , business enterprise leaders and marihuana advocates like Jones , who facilitate shape the early medical cannabis movement in California .
There are readings ( Oaksterdam just released itsfirst due east - bookThe Budtender ’s Guide : A Reference Manual for Cannabis Consumers and Industry Professionals ) and some classes include a “ capstone projection . ” In theHorticultureclass , students design a design for a grow operation , and inBusiness , they create a forward financial program .
Courtesy of Oaksterdam University
you may choose ego - pace grade to attend classes asynchronously or assist live interactive talk with up to 23 students to involve questions in genuine - meter and web with classmates .
The live semester programme meets once a week for two - and - a - half hour on Zoom for 17 workweek , plus there ’s additional meter to build a business plan with your cohort and coach . There is also a fast - raceway semester pick that offer the same program in half the clock time . The live semester certification programme with stretcher happen once a year and begin on Jan. 9 , 2023 .
The Logistics: Enrollment, Cost, Scholarships and More
Classes set forth at $ 150 for electives to $ 295 for the Home Grow course . ego - paced certificate courses range from $ 486 to $ 983 . Live certification courses order from $ 1,995 to $ 2,495 . You ca n’t habituate Union fiscal aid , but Oaksterdam extend scholarships and there are payment plans .
Students have access to alum networking events and the extracurricular Garden Club : live horticulture labs on Friday daybreak where expert raiser answer question .
While you ca n’t in reality get a college degree from Oaksterdam University , your attempt does n’t have to go up in smoke . you may get a security in Budtending , Horticulture , Business of Cannabis , Extraction & Manufacturing and , for the last three , transport up to 18 credits toGolden Gate Universityto put toward a bachelor ’s degree in business . Classes are passing / fail , but you need an 80 % score or in high spirits to pass off the trend or obtain certification .
Courtesy of Oaksterdam University
" Department of Education and breeding are crucial to understanding the changing law , acquire industry and ever - expatiate science and therapeutics behind marijuana , " said Von Buskirk . " It ’s an exciting metre to get in on the ground floor . "
earn certificates in Budtending, Horticulture, Business in Cannabis, and manufacturing|Courtesy of Oaksterdam University
