Cannabis - Legalize it or not?

Photo: Oaksterdam Myspace Blog

On Thursday, Jan. 7 -- on the one year anniversary of the Oscar Grant Uprising -- I attended the grand opening of Oaksterdam University's new downtown Oakland campus.

I missed the pomp and circumstance of the ribbon cutting and speakers, but have some baked goods. The brownie was delicious But it did lead to me not functioning at my normal level of optimization for the next few hours.

Oakland Translation: I was ON ONE!

I did manage to do some meticulous organizing when I got home, and wrote some 'interesting' poetry.

Oaksterdam is at the forefront of the California movement to legalize marijuana. Oaksterdam was even featured in the Wall Street Journal (Oaksterdam University gives new meaning to Higher Education.

The video below, produced by the Minister of Information JR, asks: Should cannibas be legalized. It features Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Oaksterdam spokesperson Salwa Ibrahim, as well as advocates and even someone "from the streets" who may be adversely affected by legalization.

Cannabis: Legalize It or Not from New America Media on Vimeo.

Like JR, I too wondered how would the underground economy of marijuana sales be affected by legalization. Like the man in the video says, many people eat off of selling the leaf.

Ironically, I entered Oaksterdam University with this in mind, and was surprised to see a number of Black faces within the 20+ graduating classes. A few instructors are Black also.

Will legalization lead to more "green jobs" for Blacks? Will legalization lead to more business and entreprenurial opportunities for Blacks?

If you're interested, Amsterdam ... I mean, Oaksterdam is enrolling students for its spring semester. The cost is somewhere between Laney College and UC Berkeley (closer to the Laney side).

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