Oaksterdam University is self-recognized as the world's first cannabis college. Located in Oakland, CA, the educational facility was founded in November 2007 by medical marijuana activist Richard Lee to offer quality training for the cannabis industry, with a mission to "legitimize the business and work to change the law to make cannabis legal." Its main campus was formerly located in Downtown Oakland, Calif. On March 8, 2020, fire damaged the Oaksterdam campus at which time the brick and mortar location closed. Classes are currently held online only, both asynchronous and in real time. The university has graduated nearly 50,000 students from more than 40 countries. History The stage for Oaksterdam University's eventual founding was set in 1995, when Jeff Jones co-founded the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, a bike service delivering cannabis to medical necessity patients, in Oakland, Calif. Grower Richard Lee, of Houston, Tex., supplied the OCBC with consistent quality cannabis, driving prices down. In July, 1996, the City of Oakland passed a Resolution of Support for OCBC, and Jones opened the first medical cannabis dispensary permitted by city government, located at 1755 Broadway. That same year, Proposition 215 passed in California, making the possession and cultivation of medical cannabis legal by state law. In 1997, Lee moved to Oakland and co-founded Hemp Research Company. Oakland City Council formed a "working group" to clarify the medical use of cannabis and the city's role in enforcing drug laws. Jones and Attorney Robert Reich educated the Oakland Police Department and introduced the idea of cannabis being the lowest law enforcement priority. In 2000, what had begun as a District Court case against Jeff Jones went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, OCBC argued for the right to manufacture and distribute marijuana for medical patients. They lost, but the momentum for legalization continued to build. In 2003, Lee opened Coffeeshop SR-17, which would later become Coffeeshop Blue Sky, joining other medical cannabis dispensaries that had cropped up in the now cannabis-friendly town, creating momentum for the cannabis movement, as well as the revitalization of the city. Activist Lee later said he was inspired to create Oaksterdam University after visiting the Cannabis College in Amsterdam. Lee recalled: Lee placed an ad in the East Bay Express that read: "Cannabis Industry, Now Hiring." In the first week, he received more than 200 calls, and Oaksterdam