Here is a school worth not sleeping thru...not in school anymore but when i was, i slept from 8 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon, then smoked till the next day.


School teaches students how to grow pot

By LISA LEFF




A binder showcasing high-grade marijuana buds and other cannabis are displayed at the Coffeeshop Blue Sky dispensary, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008, in Oakland, Calif. (AP/Dino Vournas)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — You know you’re in a different kind of college when a teaching assistant sets five marijuana plants down in the middle of a lab and no one blinks a bloodshot eye.
Welcome to Oaksterdam University, a new trade school where higher education takes on a whole new meaning.
The school prepares people for jobs in California’s thriving medical marijuana industry. For $200 and the cost of two required textbooks, students learn how to cultivate and cook with cannabis, study which strains of pot are best for certain ailments, and are instructed in the legalities of a business that is against the law in the eyes of the federal government.
“My basic idea is to try to professionalize the industry and have it taken seriously as a real industry, just like beer and distilling hard alcohol,” said Richard Lee, 45, an activist and pot-dispensary owner who founded the school in a downtown storefront last fall.
So far, 60 students have completed the two-day weekend course, which is sold out through May. At the end of the class, students are given a take-home test, with the highest scorer — make that “top scorer” — earning the title of class valedictorian.


Before getting to Horticulture 101, the hands-on highlight of Oaksterdam U, the 20 budding botanists, entrepreneurs and political activists at a recent weekend session sat politely through two law lectures and a visiting professor’s history talk.
In the lab, Lee measured plant food into a plastic garbage can and explained how, with common sense, upgraded electrical outlets, a fan and an air filter, students can grow pot at home for fun, health, public service — or profit.
Lee explained to his students how to prune and harvest plants, handing the clipping shears to a woman who wasn’t sure how close to the stalk to cut without damaging it. He offered his thoughts on which commercial nutrient preparations are best, as well as the advantages of hydroponics, or soil-free gardening.
During a discussion of neighbor relations, he warned against setting boobytraps to keep curious kids out of outdoor gardens.
Students gave various reasons for enrolling. Some said they were simply curious. Others said they wanted tips for growing their own weed, although judging from the questions, a few were ready for the graduate seminar Lee recently added to the curriculum.
Jeff Sanders, 52, said he has been buying medical marijuana since 2003, but wants to open a dispensary in the San Joaquin Valley because he doesn’t like having to drive up to San Francisco and paying the markup.
“I see it as a good thing. You are giving back to the community,” Sanders said.
Patrick O’Shaughnessy, 37, said he started smoking pot regularly for the first time about a year ago to treat his chronic migraines, depression and anxiety. After attending class, he said felt more confident about growing his own, which he wants to do because the dispensary he frequents often sells out of his favorite strain.
Oaksterdam U draws its name from the jokey nickname for a section of Oakland where some of California’s earliest medical marijuana dispensaries took root. The nickname in turn was inspired by the city of Amsterdam, in Holland, where pot use is tolerated.
At one point, the Oaksterdam neighborhood had at least 15 clubs and coffee shops selling pot, a number that dwindled to four when the city started issuing permits and collecting taxes from them a few years ago.
California was the first of a dozen states that have legalized marijuana use for patients with a doctor’s recommendation. Despite periodic raids by federal drug agents and the threat of prosecution, clubs and cooperatives where customers can buy the drug of their choice have proliferated; California has 300 to 400, according to advocacy groups.
Entry-level workers are paid a little more than minimum wage, while “bud tenders,” can make over $50,000 a year, and owners and top managers more than $100,000, Lee said. But there’s also a certain amount of risk — and not just financial, but legal.
Michael Chapman, an assistant agent in charge with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s San Francisco office, said authorities are aware of Oaksterdam U and don’t see any reason to shut it down. Talking about marijuana is not illegal, and while a small amount of pot is kept on the premises, the DEA tries “to concentrate our case work on the most significant violators,” he said.

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When in need ......Smoke some weed .........'nuff said........

Wow. Go them!

I'm registering for classes right now at my college for this summer and fall....I wish they offered this class LOL

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wicked.
im going to oakland.

my favorite part.
"Michael Chapman, an assistant agent in charge with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s San Francisco office, said authorities are aware of Oaksterdam U and don’t see any reason to shut it down. Talking about marijuana is not illegal, and while a small amount of pot is kept on the premises, the DEA tries “to concentrate our case work on the most significant violators,” he said."

Where exactly is this facility? I might seriously look into this

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We always give thanks, for life and the gifts. The higher you climb, its the higher you get. You gotta disconnect, from all the pressure and stress. The traffic, the smog and the pains of rent. If thats real livin, its not for me, I wanna be free, and live in peace, come on. Kottonmouth Kings "Proud to be a Stoner"

it would be a very fun class to take...i thinks it's in cali some where

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When in need ......Smoke some weed .........'nuff said........

blow my mind! bang! gone ! see ya !! oops!

i start next month. i registered for the whole package.

Oaksterdam University

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i'm the guy i've always wanted to be

I think it's a great idea. You read posts on here all the time from people who probably didn't pay any attention to science in school who are suddenly eager to learn all they can about botany, horitculture, chemistry and physics regarding their plants, nutrients and lighting. Regardless of how you feel about the legality of using MJ, I think that by growing your own you learn heaps. much of which can be later applied to other things or which extend your knowledge in general.

Ahahahahaha. Seriously. You should be hired on the faculty as University president. You could develop the curriculum.