Reefer Madness 101: Oaksterdam University

Weed has a really schizophrenic status in American culture. Pretty much everyone’s tried it, but getting busted with even a small amount of it can land you some serious jail time.

Meanwhile, magazines like High Times boast super-ridiculous, high-definition marijuana centerfolds and smoking tips, and you can buy amazingly ornate smoking paraphernalia, like, at the local mall.

Although smoking pot is normalized, if not practically mainstream (we’re long past the “Reefer Madness” era, after all), there have been over eight million cannabis arrests in the United States since 1993 — at a rate of 1 cannabis users arrested every 40 seconds. And this is in a country where growing and selling pot, at least for medicinal purposes, is totally legal in many states. Could it get more convoluted?

In hopes of alleviating the confusing f*ck-all of cannabis culture in the United States, a new higher institution (pun intended) in the Bay Area has opened its doors to curious stoners, enterprising hydroponic botanists, and legalization activists. Half-jokingly dubbed “Oaksterdam University,” this Oakland trade school is a full-fledged university of weed.

It’s less insane than it sounds: the legal cannabis industry is a huge money-maker that employs a ton of people — growers, distributors, etc — in the 12 states where it’s legal. Oaksterdam University’s reasoning, then, is that these people interested in going legal with their pot enthusiasm should be fully trained in the political, legal, ideological, and practical ins-and-outs of this controversial industry.

With courses like “Distribution/Dispensary Management 102,” and (of course) “Horticulture 101,” the students will be prepped to enter the wild and wooly world of legal dealing.

Check out this Youtube vid of baffled Bay Area newscasters trying to keep a straight face when talking about Oaksterdam!