Announcing Oaksterdam’s new book, “The Budtender’s Guide: A Reference Manual for Cannabis Consumers and Dispensary Professionals,” available on Amazon today!
New Release: OU Budtender’s Guide
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Announcing: OU Budtender’s Guide
Just in time for holiday shopping, Oaksterdam University has released The Budtender’s Guide: A Reference Manual for Cannabis Consumers and Dispensary Professionals for pre-sale on Amazon.com.
The book is designed to give both budtenders and consumers the knowledge they need to understand the landscape of cannabis products available in licit markets across the country, along with the history, laws and policies, science, and cultural nuances of the plant.
The book is available now as a Kindle digital download on the Amazon store, priced at $9.99.
How to Become a Budtender
In the fast-growing cannabis industry, budtending is a great entry point for a variety of career paths. A budtender job may be up your alley if you enjoy constantly learning about trends and research in cannabis, working in a fast-paced environment, and helping others.
Oaksterdam University coined the term “budtender,” and offers the most respected Budtending Certification program in the nation.
Budtender Awards G4 Live
Oaksterdam University is a proud “Your Choice” Community Advocacy Award and "OG Awards" Gift Bag Sponsor at the 2022 Budtender Awards, presented at G4 Live, May 12-14 in Las Vegas. Nominations for this prestigious award are open now. OU's participation in the G4 Live...
Enter OU’s Budtender Advocacy Award
Oaksterdam University is proud to sponsor the Community Advocacy Award at the 2022 Budtender Awards, presented at G4 Live, May 11-14 in Las Vegas. Winners will recieve scholarships to Oaksterdam’s Budtending Certification Program. Nominations for this prestigious award are open now.
The Role of a Cannabis Budtender
Budtenders work in dispensaries or provisioning centers and handle many of the same things anyone who works in retail is familiar with. However, they also deal with responsibilities unique to cannabis, such as product handling protocols, seed-to-sale tracking, and advanced security measures. Most importantly, budtenders must serve not only customers but patients with sensitive health conditions.
6 Skills to Be a Great Budtender
The role of a cannabis “budtender” is like a hybrid of a pharmacist and a bartender. A budtender must not only be well-versed in the potential effects of the products they sell and current scientific literature but also be able to provide a pleasant and entertaining experience for their customers. Here are six skills that go into being a great budtender.
OU & Leafly Launch Budtender Day
Oaksterdam University, America’s premier cannabis college, has partnered with Leafly, the world’s most trusted destination to discover and order cannabis products, to launch International Budtender Day on October 20. The annual holiday is designed to honor budtenders around the world who go over and above in this emerging profession.
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The Evolution of Cannabis Consulting with Goose Duarte
Goose Duarte has worked at the forefront of the legal cannabis industry since its emergence in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 2000s. He has helped define the role of a budtender in the world’s pioneering dispensaries. Today he is the director of operations at Oaksterdam University.
Goose worked in almost every position at Harborside Health Center in Oakland, from inventory, stocking, product displays, check-in and registration, budtender, and management.
Here, he shares Harborside’s six-step consultation and sale process …
A Look Back at Mary Jane “Brownie Mary” Rathbun
Claire Birch was a Berkeley, California-based documentarian who followed much of the early movement toward medical cannabis laws in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Click here for rare footage of Brownie Mary passionately describing her work and why she does it, as well as a contextual interview about her with Dennis Peron.
Bryana Saldana
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Cannabis Extraction and Manufacturing Course Promo
CANNABIS EXTRACTION & MANUFACTURING Self-Paced CourseUnlock the Secrets of Extraction and ManufacturingThe market for cannabis edibles, beverages, topicals, and other specialty products is growing, creating a high demand for professionals with extraction,...
Are All Weed Colleges and Cannabis Certifications the Same?
Adult-use cannabis is a massive market that will continue to grow over the next decade. The industry's growth means more job opportunities and career paths for individuals ready to fill those roles. One of the best ways to prepare for a job in the cannabis industry is...
Jeff Jones and the Origins of “Budtending”
The history of the modern dispensary and much of its associated terminology can be traced to the Bay Area, where a group of advocates began to openly distribute medical marijuana in the late 1980s.
At that time, Dennis Peron and “Brownie Mary” Jane Rathbun made national headlines by openly providing cannabis to AIDS patients in San Francisco. A young Jeff Jones saw them on CNN from his home in South Dakota and was inspired to move west to be a part of it.
Read more about the movement in this excerpt from The Budtender’s Guide, Oaksterdam’s new book for dispendary professionals and cannabis consumers.
OU Featured in Thrillist
With adult use cannabis now legal in 21 states plus Washington, D.C., it’s high time to visit Oaksterdam University. So says an article that appeared in Thrillist on Jan. 6, 2023.
The article shares all the details on OU, from classes to price points and more.
In addition, it features two of our esteemed alumni, Tahir Johnson, who hosts the podcast the Cannabis Diversity Report and is set to open a dispensary Simply Pure Trenton in the spring, and Alphonso “Tucky” Blunt, Jr., owner of dispensary Blunts & Moore.
Cannabis Myths: Sativa-Indica Fallacy
The narrative handed down for generations is that “sativa” varieties are associated with more awake, “caffeine-like” effects that make them ideal to consume during the day, whereas indica products tend to be associated with a full-body high and so-called “couchlock effects” that make them more appropriate to consume in the evening.
Nonetheless, modern analytical testing of so-called true indica versus true sativa varieties identifies few differences in the plants’ analytical makeup and none responsible for these supposed disparate effects. In 2018, cannabinoid scientist Robert McPartland concluded, “Categorizing cannabis as either ‘sativa’ or ‘indica’ has become an exercise in futility. … Ubiquitous interbreeding and hybridization render their distinction meaningless.”
2022 Hit List: OU’s Top 10 Rewind
This past year, Oaksterdam University marked a huge milestone: our 15th anniversary! We’re proud to be America’s first cannabis college, still going strong, and fresher than ever. As we wrap up 2022, we want to share some of your alma mater’s achievements. Kick back and read on for our hit list from the past year.
A Very Oaksterdam Cannabis Education Holiday Gift Guide
For more and more Americans, cannabis is becoming a beloved part of holiday celebrations. Whether serving infused treats, sharing cannabis with friends and family after a big dinner, or giving cannabis-themed gifts, cannabis can enrich the holiday season. ...
Why Cannabis Professionals Need Continued Education
The new year brings a new opportunity to develop your skills. Oaksterdam University’s Business of Cannabis Semester begins Jan. 9, 2023 and is enrolling now. The live course features a capstone project that has students create a business plan lite with guidance and feedback from our expert faculty. We only offer this program once a year, and seats are filling fast.
In 2021, America’s legal cannabis industry added 107,000 jobs, or an average of 280 new jobs daily. It was the fifth year of job growth at 27% or more — the highest industry rate in the nation.
Jobs are available in cannabis businesses, classified as plant-touching, or ancillary businesses, which provide services or products that support the cannabis industry without directly touching the plant.