The Architects

Steve DeAngelo — "Father of the Legal Cannabis Industry"

Founded Harborside (2006), the largest nonprofit medical cannabis dispensary in the world. Served 300,000 patients. Sold the first legal gram of adult-use cannabis in California (January 1, 2018). Survived a $36 million IRS battle over Section 280E, federal civil forfeiture proceedings, and parent company bankruptcy. Co-founded Steep Hill Labs (one of the first commercial cannabis testing labs), Arcview Group ($300 million+ in cannabis investment), and the Last Prisoner Project (cannabis prisoner advocacy). Former SF Mayor Willie Brown gave him the title. Separated from Harborside in December 2020.

Read the full Harborside story

Richard Lee (1963–2025)

Wheelchair-using Texan who arrived in Oakland in 1997 and transformed empty Broadway storefronts into the Oaksterdam district. Founded Oaksterdam University (2007) — America's first cannabis college, 100,000+ alumni from 116 countries. Spent $1.3 million of his own money on Proposition 19 (2010), which failed at 46.5% but triggered SB 1449 (89% reduction in cannabis arrests) and became the blueprint for Colorado and Washington's successful legalization. Survived a four-agency federal raid (April 2, 2012) where no charges were ever filed. Relocated to Houston. Died July 27, 2025, age 62, from cancer.

Read the full Oaksterdam story

Ed Rosenthal — "The Guru of Ganja"

Author of over 2 million copies of cannabis cultivation guides. Oaksterdam University faculty member. In 2002, Oakland deputized Rosenthal as the city's official cannabis cultivator to supply patients — an extraordinary act of municipal defiance. When he was prosecuted in federal court, the jury was not told about the Oakland deputization. After conviction, the jurors publicly recanted, holding press conferences saying they would have acquitted if they had known. The case became a national symbol of the disconnect between local cannabis policy and federal enforcement.

Jeff Jones

Co-founded the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative (OCBC) in 1995, operating by bicycle delivery. The OCBC case went to the U.S. Supreme Court (United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 2001). Jones lost but proved Oakland was willing to fight for cannabis at the highest level. Oaksterdam University faculty member.

Dale Sky Jones

Took over as chancellor of Oaksterdam University after the 2012 federal raid when Richard Lee stepped back. Kept the university operational through the most difficult period in its history and continued its mission of cannabis education.

The Equity Champions

Darlene Flynn

Led Oakland's Department of Race and Equity and produced the 2015 arrest data that launched the equity movement: 30% of Oakland's population was Black, but 77% of cannabis arrests were Black residents. White residents were 31% of the population and 4% of arrests. Flynn's data made the case that legalization without equity was a wealth transfer. Without the numbers, there would have been no program.

Desley Brooks

Oakland City Councilmember who championed the equity ordinance that was passed unanimously in spring 2017, creating America's first cannabis equity program. Brooks pushed the 1:1 licensing mandate and the financial support mechanisms that defined the program.

Amber Senter

Founded Supernova Women, an organization supporting women of color in cannabis. Co-founded the Oakland Equity Collective. Senter has become one of the most prominent national voices for cannabis equity, using Oakland's program as both a model and a cautionary tale. She has been vocal about both the program's achievements and its systemic failures.

Alphonso "Tucky" Blunt Jr. & Brittany Moore

Opened Blunts + Moore (701 66th Ave) in November 2018 — the world's first equity dispensary. The name was their actual last names.

Jessie Grundy

Built The Peakz Co. through Oakland's equity program and turned down acquisition offers to keep the business equity-owned. In an industry where equity businesses face constant pressure to sell, Grundy's independence is a statement.

The Culture Makers

Berner (Gilbert Milam Jr.)

SF Sunset native, budtender at the Hemp Center at 18. Built the Cookies brand from Jai Chang's Girl Scout Cookies genetics into a $150 million+ global empire with 70+ dispensaries. Pioneered strain-specific branding by trademarking the clothing (since federal cannabis trademarks are impossible). Placed Cookies in hip-hop music videos. Forbes cover August 2022. Opened Cookies Oakland at 1776 Broadway (former OU building) in December 2019.

Read the full Cookies and genetics story

Loriel Alegrete — 40 Tons / Justice Row

Founded 40 Tons, a cannabis brand inspired by Corvain Cooper's life sentence for cannabis. Channels proceeds to cannabis prisoner justice through Justice Row. The brand connects directly to the thread from Black liberation to the War on Drugs to the equity movement.

Events & Institutions

The Emerald Cup

California's premier cannabis competition and festival. The 20th anniversary was held at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland (August 2024). Vendors, speakers, competitions, and thousands of attendees. The Emerald Cup's move to Oakland from its original Mendocino County home reflects the East Bay's centrality to California cannabis.

Magnolia's Marijuana Farmer's Markets

Regular markets featuring craft cannabis vendors and equity brands. These markets give small producers and equity operators a direct-to-consumer channel, bypassing the distribution costs that squeeze margins in the licensed market.

CBCB 4/20 Carnival

Berkeley dispensary CBCB hosts an annual 4/20 celebration that is community-focused rather than commercially-focused. The CBCB partnerships with the Black Panther Alumni Legacy Network connect the dispensary to Oakland's broader history of community self-determination.

Oakland Cannabis Creative

Puff Pass & Paint and other creative cannabis experiences. Art, cannabis, and community in a licensed setting.

Hood Incubator

Provides free legal clinics for equity applicants and cannabis entrepreneurs navigating the licensing process. The Hood Incubator addresses one of the equity program's biggest barriers: legal costs and regulatory complexity.

Padre Mu

Equity delivery service that goes beyond commerce: provides free cannabis to terminally ill and low-income patients. Equity in its most literal form.

East Bay vs. San Francisco: Two Sides of the Bay

Both sides of the bay are essential to the cannabis story. SF gave America Prop 215 and the moral framework. Oakland gave America the equity framework, the first cannabis college, and the first legal sale. BART connects them in 12 minutes. For the San Francisco side, see SanFranciscoCannabis.org.