Richard Lee is a marijuana activist who runs various medical marijuana programs throughout the "Oaksterdam

Oaksterdam

Oaksterdam is a cultural district on the north end of downtown Oakland, California, where medical cannabis in a variety of competitively priced smokeable and edible preparations is available for purchase in multiple cafes, clubs, and patient dispensaries. Oaksterdam is located on the north end of...

" area of downtown

Downtown Oakland

Downtown Oakland is the central business district of Oakland, California; roughly bounded by 6th Street or the Oakland Estuary on the southwest, Interstate 980 on the northwest, Grand Avenue on the northeast, and Lake Merritt on the east....

 Oakland

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. He is regarded as a central figure in Northern California

Northern California

Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...

's medical marijuana movement. He also operates a coffee shop

Coffeehouse

A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...

. He has been active in working to end cannabis prohibition since 1992.

California Proposition 19

He was the chief promoter of California Proposition 19, titled the "Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010", which was a measure to legalize marijuana in California. On December 14, 2009 the secretary of state confirmed receipt of enough signatures to qualify the measure for inclusion on the November 2010 ballot

California state elections, November 2010

The California state elections, November 2010 were held on November 2, 2010.On a year marked by a strong Republican wave nationwide, the State of California elected Democrats to the state's top offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Controller, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public...

. The initiative failed to pass, with 54% of California voters voting "No", and 46% voting "Yes".

Oaksterdam University

In 2007, Lee founded Oaksterdam University

Oaksterdam University

Oaksterdam University is a non-accredited for-profit educational facility and "political institution" founded in November 2007 by medical marijuana activist Richard Lee to offer training for the cannabis industry, with a mission to "legitimize the business and work to change the law to make...

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

' first cannabis-oriented "college". The unaccredited educational facility has three campuses and offers classes on politics and legal issues related to marijuana as well as horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

, cooking with cannabis, business management, and entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...

.