Richard Lee, founder of Oaksterdam University and cannabis policy pioneer, passed away on July 27, 2025. Richard was just 62 years old, but his legacy in the cannabis world will last forever.
As someone who’s witnessed the transformation of cannabis culture and legalization strides over the past two decades, I can confidently say – the world of cannabis wouldn’t be where it is today without Richard Lee. Not in the United States. Not worldwide.
Enduring Legacy: Oaksterdam University & Sweeping Legalization
Back in 2007, when Oaksterdam University opened its doors in downtown Oakland, it was unlike anything the world had seen. The very first cannabis college in America, it wasn’t just about education. It was about legitimacy, destigmatization. It was about hope.
Today, over 100,000 students from across the globe have passed through OU classrooms.
They are your growers. Your budtenders. Your legalization advocates.
The cannabis world is immensely better for them, so don’t take them for granted. Because – even though we’re FAR from done with the fight – getting where we are today wasn’t easy. Not by a longshot. Richard Lee and those around him – especially Dale Sky Jones, the school’s current executive chancellor – took monumental risks in those early days.
Those risks are still paying off… but they also come with a hefty personal price tag.
Richard Lee invested over $1 million of his own money into California’s Proposition 19 in 2010, the first major effort in modern times to legalize adult-use cannabis statewide. Though it narrowly failed, Prop 19 laid the groundwork for the cascade of legalization initiatives that followed, including Colorado’s and Washington’s landmark laws—and eventually California’s own Prop 64.
For all his advocacy work, Richard – and OU to an extent – was rewarded by being targeted by the federal government. His home and offices were raided in 2013 – I still remember vividly just how many federal agents were swarming the OU that one morning.
Still in its infancy, Oaksterdam University put a spotlight on Oakland and invited the world to witness an ordinary community doing extraordinary work.
Oaksterdam shifted the national conversation from criminalization to education, from punishment to opportunity. It paved the way for countless jobs, protections for medical patients, and a new era where families no longer need to live in fear. Oaksterdam’s influence created a domino effect—turning prohibition into progress not just here, but internationally.
It all started, in great part, thanks to Richard Lee.
American Pot Story: Oaksterdam
To honor Richard Lee’s incredible journey, I urge you to check out the recently released documentary American Pot Story: Oaksterdam. This award-winning film tells the untold origins of Oaksterdam, the hardship, the setbacks, and the victories won by Richard, Dale Sky Jones, and countless unsung heroes who fueled this movement for over a decade.
If you can, make sure to watch this powerful story.
I didn’t know Richard Lee, but I watched him when it wasn’t easy or safe. His legacy is a world that we can hold our heads high in. A world where cannabis is not taboo but a source of healing, community, and economic opportunity.
Rest in power, Richard Lee. The fight lives on because of you.
