RICHARD LEE'S OAKSTERDAM U WILL TEACH YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
THE WEED BUSINESS

As Richard Lee wheels along 15th Street in Oakland, a neighbor
notices him. "Hey, movie star," she says. But Lee, 45, is no movie
star. He's more than that. He is the president of a university - Oaksterdam U.

"I first heard the word 'Oaksterdam' on a variety of cannabis that
was available at a medical club here in Oakland. It was called
'Oaksterdam Goo.' I liked the idea of promoting the Amsterdam model.
In Amsterdam it's been openly available for over 30 years now and
they get lots of tax dollars, lots of tourists.

Oaksterdam is between downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt. We like to
think of ourselves as part of the uptown or entertainment district.
There are about a dozen cannabis-related businesses in Oaksterdam at
the moment.

Oaksterdam University is our newest project to help promote the idea
of a cannabis-friendly district in Oakland. We like to say Oaksterdam
University is 'quality training for the cannabis industry.' All the
clubs combined pay about $5 million in taxes already, plus about that
much in payroll taxes. The university is a political institution. Its
mission is to legitimize the business and work to change the law to
make cannabis legal. Our first classes were November of 2007. We had
22 people. Our February, March and April classes sold out. We have
students coming from New York, Florida and Oregon.

Tuition is $150 for the basic course, which includes politics, legal
issues, beginning horticulture and budtending - which is working at a
bud bar, like bartending. The introductory package is offered as a
weekend seminar. The next Saturday is 'Retail Management' and
'Starting a Business.' 'Packaging and Distribution' is the other
advanced class. Graduates from Oaksterdam University get a diploma if
they pass their final test. We have a space on 15th Street right
across the street from Oaksterdam Gift Shop. The gift shop does
several thousand dollars a month. We have Oaksterdam University
T-shirts and jackets with the Oaksterdam University crest
embroidered. The gift shop and university have the same owners -
Richard Lee. Right now, it's a regular business. I'm looking into
turning it over to a foundation.

I use cannabis both medically and as an adult. I was the victim of a
carjacking in 1991 in Houston, Texas. It took the police 45 minutes
to respond. I was already in a wheel-chair from a spinal-cord injury.
I'm sitting there on the pavement for 45 minutes, and when I asked
them for a ride home, they said 'What do we look like, a taxi company?'

That's what really made me mad. I blame the laws against cannabis for
the lack of police protection. They're looking for people like me
smoking a joint instead of the violent predators and sociopaths out there.

Measure Z is our Oakland initiative that passed in 2004 with 65
percent of the vote. It calls on the city to tax and regulate
cannabis for all adults, not just medical. It makes private sales and
cultivation the lowest priority for enforcement. Six other cities in
California now have emulated it. There is an increase in quality.
It's safer to have stronger stuff because people can take a few
inhalations as opposed to an entire cigarette to get the same effect.
So it's less lung damage."

The Lightbulb: In November of 2006 I visited Amsterdam and saw the
Cannabis College there. I've seen in California that there are not
enough good people who want to work in the cannabis industry in a
professional way, who want to pay taxes and obey regulations and help
improve their community. I came back from Amsterdam and the idea just
popped into the back of my head and I had to think back later to where I saw it.