Oakland Extracts was born when Terryn Buxton and Aaron Tran met working at Harborside Health Center, circa 2009. Over the next four years, they witnessed the rise of concentrates first-hand in the California cannabis market. Back then, good concentrates were expensive, often upwards of $100 per gram. Generally, only low-quality products were available at budget prices. Terryn and Tran saw things differently.
They founded their brand on the principle that quality concentrates don’t have to be ridiculously expensive. Oakland Extracts was the result of their desire to provide top-shelf quality at an affordable price.
One of the main observations the pair made during their time at Harborside was newcomers' reluctance to dabbing. While veteran dabbers loved their sugar, shatter, and live resin, flower smokers (the bulk of Oakland’s cannabis consumer base) were hardly interested in concentrates because of the required equipment.
Wanting to ensure that all folks from the Town could enjoy their products, Terryn and Tran set out to craft concentrates that were easy to use in a joint, blunt, or bowl - no rig or torch needed. Enter, their signature Cookie Crumble. Tran was able to produce wax into easy-to-use, one-gram wafers. Oakland Extracts’ Cookie Crumble opened up concentrates to a new demographic, while still maintaining the high quality expected by traditional dabbers.
Oakland Extracts has since expanded their offerings beyond “cookies.” They now make wax, sugar, and all types of live resin, from badder to sauce to diamonds. Most recently, the brand has become the proud purveyor of vape carts in both CCELL and Pax:
“We never liked distillate, and we resented the proliferation of distillate with live resin terps added, masquerading as true live resin. We waited until we could perfect 100% pure, uncut live resin in a cart. No distillate or botanical terps. Just the essence of the plant.”
Oakland Extracts supports many local community service organizations, such as Operation E.V.A.C., Weed For Warriors, The Oakland Seniors Cannabis Group, SuperNova Women, and The Shelter project. Terryn and the brand were both born and raised in Oakland. OE will always reflect the joys and struggles of this diverse community. Diversity isn’t just a buzzword, it is who we are.
