Recently at Reason.tv: Welcome to Oaksterdam! Epicenter of the Marijuana Legalization Movement

Located in the pot-friendly "Oaksterdam" section of Oakland, California, Oaksterdam University aims to teach its students the fundamentals of growing and marketing marijuana.

The curriculum covers everything from law and politics to business and horticulture. The university also provides training for entrepreneurs in the pot industry as well as several dispensaries, a Bulldog Coffeeshop, and a gift shop. University founder Richard Lee tells Reason.tv that he and other Bay Area activists were inspired by the example of Amsterdam, a city with some of the most liberal marijuana policies in the world. As he put it, "We went to Amsterdam and said you know, hey, we can do this here; it shows it can work."

Oaksterdam University is one of the major sponsors of the "Tax and Regulate" initiative that will be on the ballot in California this November. If passed, marijuana would be legalized and regulated like alcohol.

Produced by Paul Feine; shot by Alex Manning, edited by Hawk Jensen and Alex Manning.

Approximately 8 minutes long. 

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Comments

[Eliza Dolittle]

If you want any of these boys to click on this story, you're going to have to change the title to Free blow-jobs for readers.

[heller]

And you're providing them, correct?

[S Wastika]

Dont' you have a Brandeis University symposium on "Right-wing Radicalism" to go to?

[heller]

Yeah I saw that, fucking retarded. You think I like the liberal hive-mind here?

[S Wastika]

What? Jews are liberal?

[A Dependent Globe]

Awww, g'wan.

[SLO]

Get back in the barrel.

[Brandybuck]

The purpose of that initiative is to place excessive taxes and regulations on marijuana. Put the taxes high enough, and/or make the regulations tough enough, and there is no practical difference from current prohibition. It's legalization in name only. It disgusts me that so many "libertarians" are wanking over this.

I don't see how the current "look the other way" policy will be any worse than a $1,000 per ounce tax, and regulations that will send you to jail for selling/giving a bud to your neighbor. This bill's entire purpose is to so white liberals in Oakland don't have to interact with black dudes to get their stash.

[R C Dean]

The purpose of that initiative is to place excessive taxes and regulations on marijuana.

Really? Does the initiative actually say "The Peepul of California hereby resolve that marijuana shall be legalized so that excessive taxes and regulations may be placed thereon?"

I'm so irritated with the purists on this issue that I hope it fails by .01%, and the CA cops go on a pot enforcement rampage, just to send a message.