By Dale Sky Jones, Angela Bacca & Etienne Fontan
With profound sorrow, Oaksterdam University announced the sudden and unexpected passing of its founder, Richard Lee, considered the leader who sparked the wave of global cannabis legalization in the 2010s. He passed away in Houston, Texas, on Sunday, July 27. He was 62 years old. A pioneer, visionary, and fearless advocate for justice, Richard reshaped cannabis policy, coined the term “cannabis industry,” and formalized the first quality training in the world.
Born in Houston, Texas, on October 7, 1962, Richard developed an early interest in music and worked at concert venues in his 20s. While working on lighting as a roadie for Aerosmith in 1990, he suffered a workplace injury that left him paraplegic. He discovered cannabis as a treatment for the resulting chronic nerve pain and quickly became a passionate advocate.
In 1992, he co-founded Legal Marijuana—The Hemp Store in Houston, one of the first hemp retail stores in the U.S. He also converted his conservative Christian parents to cannabis advocacy, beginning a lifelong mission of shifting hearts and minds.
In 1997, Richard moved to Oakland, California, for safe legal access to cannabis and began providing cannabis to the Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative (OCBC). He co-founded the Hemp Research Company, conducting early research on sustainable cannabis horticulture. Working closely with OCBC founder Jeff Jones, they helped establish “Oaksterdam” as a safe cannabis district in downtown Oakland.
In 1999, Lee opened the Bulldog Coffeeshop. In 2003, he founded the Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance, which passed Oakland’s Measure Z, deprioritizing cannabis enforcement and laying the groundwork for city taxation and regulation. From 2005 to 2007, Lee published the Oaksterdam News, which had a circulation of over 100,000, further cementing the city’s position as the hub of the cannabis reform movement.
In 2007, Richard founded Oaksterdam University, the first cannabis college in …
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Author: High Times / High Times
