HIGH TIMES MAGAZINE (MAY 2009)

HIGH CLASS
Earn a diploma in dank at Oaksterdam University, America's ultimate--and only--institute of 'higher' learning.
BY DAVID BIENENSTOCK

Just set foot in the lecture hall, and you can immediately tell that Oaksterdam University isn't a real college. How? Because the students show up on time, take detailed notes, and pay close attention to their instructors. Also, some kind-hearted soul brought in enough homemade pot brownies to share with the entire class.

Tonight's the second-to-last session of the fall semester, a comprehensive program that covers local politics, state and federal legal issues, beginning and advanced horticulture, concocting ganja-infused foods and tinctures, and opening and managing your very own medical cannabis dispensary. Each class starts with a ninety-minute lecture and ends with a thirty-minute grow lab. At the end of thirteen weeks, qualified students receive the highest level of certification available from Oaksterdam University, founded in 2007 as the nation's first and still only trade school for the medical cannabis industry.

Headquartered in Oakland, California, with a new, satellite campus now open in Los Angeles, OU also offers weekend seminars for beginning and advanced students, plus a new program in "continuing legal education" for lawyers interested in effectively defending the rights of medical marijuana patients and providers. The brainchild of 2006 HIGH TIMES Freedom Fighter of the Year Richard Lee, the nation's premiere institute of "higher" learning has already graduated hundreds of students, many of whom have landed jobs as medical growers, cannabis dispensary managers, or professional "budtenders"Ñnot to mention those who've opened their own shops or planted their own gardens.

And then there are the ones who never left. For instance, the first smiling face you encounter at OU belongs to Administrator LaTanya Linzie. Like most of Oaksterdam's small, hardworking staff, she first arrived as a student and patient, after discovering marijuana's potential to literary change her life.

A big-hearted woman with an infectious laugh, Linzie quickly becomes emotional when describing the family tragedy that lead to her debilitating battle with depression and insomnia. After several expensive, ineffective, side effect riddled attempts at treating the condition with prescription drugs, a longtime friend and cancer survivor finally suggested she try medical cannabis. Linzie had smoked pot a few times in college, and even enjoyed it, but hadn't gotten high in years.

"I smoked some Purple Kush before bed, and when I woke up, I was in tears," Linzie recalls, grinning widely at the memory of her first full night of sleep in over a year. That morning, she sampled a sativa strain before breakfast, and from there on out, "each day got better and better," including the day she saw a local news station's report on Oaksterdam University, and decided to enroll.

Linzie arrived at OU eager to learn more about the wondrous plant that had so drastically improved her quality of life. She ended up finding not only a new career, but also a whole new community of support.

"The social aspect of the class was very important," She says. "For the first time, I was with a group of people like me."

Among those likeminded colleagues, Linzie works most directly with Adrienne Calcote, Oaksterdam's young, bustling, noseringed chancellor. Calcote makes time to chat with HIGH TIMES before class, sharing a quick smoke while outlining her meteoric rise from student, to intern, to receptionist, to head of the academic program. Her experience with medical marijuana began at home, when she started growing herb as a caretaker for her father, who uses marijuana to treat severe back injuries sustained after a nasty fall down a cliff.

"Cannabis has proven its ability to improve quality of life and provide relief, which I witnessed firsthand as a caretaker for my father." Calcote says. At the time, she was working in a lawyer's office, trying to save up money for college.

"As well as I did, I hated it." And so she ditched office life, and enrolled in one of Oaksterdam University's earliest sessions. Now she oversees a program that services more than one hundred students per semester, with a steady demand for expansion. She must also ensure that the curriculum consistently evolves to stay current with the ever-shifting legal status of medical cannabis in California, and across the country.

Fortunately, the chancellor can rely on guest lectures and class visits from a faculty that reads like a veritable Mount Kushmore of medical marijuana, including Prop 215 author Dennis Peron, Eddy Lepp, of Eddy's Medicinal Gardens, comedian and convict Tommy Chong, attorney Robert Raich, who took two separate medical marijuana cases to the Supreme Court, author and investigator Chris Conrad, and Jeff Jones, co-founder of the legendary Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Collective and now chancellor of OU's Los Angeles campus.

Tonight's class opens with an impassioned appeal from the chancellor for students to get involved as volunteers for political candidates who have proven themselves dedicated to the cause of medical marijuana. Oaksterdam University considers this kind of activism to be crucial, and it's certainly easy to see how the level of autonomy enjoyed by pot patients and providers in Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area is directly related to the loud, proud, unrelenting support of the local community.

The chancellor also mentions the brownies that will be served during the break, and then introduces James Anthony--a land use attorney who once worked for the city of Oakland. Now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), Anthony regrets the part of his former job that put him at odds with medical marijuana dispensaries, and considers speaking to Oaksterdam University students a way to help repay his karmic debt.

Still, don't expect a pep talk. Anthony's first bit of advice is to not open a medical cannabis dispensary, followed by a list of things the government can take away should you ignore this advice: your house, your money, your children, and your freedom. Sounds like a real bummer, but then again, this isn't the Learning Annex. Opening your own business is hard enough, but until the laws change, potential cannabis dispensary owners need to recognize that they are involved in an act of "massive, collective civil disobedience."

As someone who has wielded the power of the law from the other side, Anthony knows he has a responsibility to present the worst-case scenario, and understands that if that's enough to scare you off, then you probably saved yourself a lot of heartache down the road. But should you remain undeterred, the first and most crucial consideration is where to open--ideally in a location where you'll be welcomed, or at least tolerated.

"You have to become the expert on your local government," Anthony advises, "Talk to people and find out what they think about medical marijuana."

Next, you need a business plan. A real one, that includes having at least three months worth of operating expenses on hand before you open. Also: Never sign a commercial lease without a thorough lawyer's review, never open a cannabis dispensary without informing your landlord of the "nature" of your business, and always pay your sales tax. The lecture ends with detailed instructions on the pros and cons of collectives, sole proprietorships, limited liability corporations, and other methods of organizing a "cannabusiness."

The class, a multi-racial, multi-generational, 50/50 mix of men and women, makes the most of the Q+A session to follow, recognizing the value in having direct access to one of the few lawyers around with a true, working knowledge of the medical marijuana laws, not just in theory, but also in practice. And then we all take a five-minute break to eat pot brownies and mingle.

Quickly the subject turns to the ongoing class project, a mixed garden of Blueberry and Shiva Skunk that has just gone into flowering. After an hour and a half lecture on arcane land use issues and a detailed description of the "potholes" awaiting unfortunate dispensary owners, everyone's pretty happy to greet Joey Ereneta, who teaches Horticulture 101 and 102 at Oaksterdam University.

Hanging loose in an Izod sweater and a pair of worn Chuck Taylors, Ereneta devotes tonight's lab time to the process of harvesting. A veteran of the Cannabis Action Network, and a frequent consultant for individuals and small patient cooperatives in California, OU's "pot professor" starts by stressing the importance of knowing your strain, particularly how long it will flower before reaching optimal yield and potency. After a step-by-step "show and tell" demonstration using a live plant, Ereneta stays after class to go over the finer points of the process. A sizable portion of the student body sticks around to observe and ask questions.

"A lot students arrive and they already have a simple way of growing that works, but hopefully I can show them better options," Ereneta says. "I feel blessed to be passing on so much of what I've learned."

In the back of the room, Oaksterdam University founder Richard Lee watches all of this unfold with an air of contentment that may have to do with how much he's accomplished on behalf of his favorite plant, but could also easily be attributed to one of the pot brownies.

"Don't forget to water the plants," The founder reminds his Horticulture professor--a simple, but fitting bit of advice. Lee himself started advocating for marijuana in Oakland long before the first dispensary opened, and through all the ups and downs, he's never forgotten to "water" the emerging grassroots of the movement.

Next week, another semester of Oaksterdam University will come to an end, the students will take their final exams, and anyone who scores above 75% will earn a diploma. Like seeds blown in the wind, this graduating class will land many places and meet many fates, but they will all leave their alma mater with the knowledge inside them required to grow up strong and vital.

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