NUG is an Oakland cannabis company that grows, extracts, distributes and sells its own product, with a flagship dispensary at 1600 Broadway in downtown Oakland. Dr. John Oram started it in 2014 on a home equity loan. The retail side runs Bay Area and Sacramento stores that stock the house NUG, TERP and SimplyERB labels next to independent California brands.
The doors are open in 2026. The Department of Cannabis Control's retail map shows active licenses for NUG Oakland and NUG Alameda in records updated September 21, 2026, and the Oakland menu on Weedmaps carries 747 products.
A lab chemist and a home equity loan
Oram came to cannabis from the lab. He holds a PhD in environmental chemistry from UCLA, studied water quality in San Francisco Bay and co-founded the testing lab CW Analytical Laboratories in 2009. Five years later he launched NUG in Oakland, and he funded it with a home equity loan because banks would not lend to cannabis.
Nico Enea has been there since the start. The co-founder and board member runs distribution, the arm that moves NUG product from Oakland to stores across the state. A January 2020 NUG release put that reach at more than 80% of licensed California dispensaries. It also described the company's Oakland plant as the highest-volume cannabis extraction facility in California.
Upstairs from the old Oaksterdam lecture halls
Headquarters is a piece of Oakland history. NUG operates out of 1600 Broadway, and the rooms downstairs were once lecture halls for Oaksterdam University, the downtown cannabis college. The flagship dispensary shares the address, in Suite 50.
The Oakland store holds an adult-use and medicinal retail license, C10-0000369-LIC, under Oaklyfe LLC. NUG describes it as an equity-owned dispensary. It also runs a consumption lounge open from 11 am to 8 pm every day, and Latham Square Parking Garage at 1611 Telegraph Ave offers 30 minutes of free self or valet parking for shoppers.
Sacramento, San Leandro, Oakland, Alameda
Retail came five years in. NUG opened its first store in Sacramento in March 2019 and followed in November 2019 with NUG Wellness at 3089 Teagarden St in San Leandro, a flagship with educational space built into the store. Oram brought in Rachel Nisbeth, a former astrophysics researcher and tech executive, to manage it. An Oakland store was planned for early 2020.
The 2026 store roster:
- NUG Oakland, 1600 Broadway, Suite 50, Oakland, license C10-0000369-LIC
- NUG Alameda, 2416 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, license C10-0001192-LIC, opened December 17, 2022 as the first dispensary in Alameda's East End
- NUG Wellness, 3089 Teagarden St, San Leandro, license C10-0000479-LIC
- NUG Retail Sacramento, 1918 16th St, Sacramento, taking orders on Weedmaps
The Oakland and Alameda stores sell NUG indoor flower, chocolates, edibles, live resin cartridges and disposable and reusable pods, plus daily promotions and a points-based loyalty program.
NUG, TERP and SimplyERB
Three house labels split the shelf. NUG is the main line, running from indoor flower and pre-rolls to vapes, concentrates, edibles and chocolate. TERP is the flower brand built around Oakland identity, with a curated set of cultivars meant to reflect the city that shaped it. SimplyERB is the plain-spoken value line, pitched on fair prices.
The outside brands on NUG's shelves read like a California hit list. The company names Eureka, Lime, Turn, Claybourne, Cake, Cam, West Coast Cure, Dime, Bloom, STIIIZY, Traditional and Raw Garden. Oakfruitland is on the list, and so is Sluggers.
Board seats, brewers and a Series A
NUG staffed up for scale early. In January 2018 it named venture investor Bryant Tong chairman and hired Michael Molkentin, a former Astex Pharmaceuticals CFO, as chief financial officer. Ted Whitney came over from craft beer to run sales. He built the sales program at Avery Brewing and ran national sales at 21st Amendment and Melvin Brewing. mg Magazine carried the announcement.
At the time, NUG said it ran cultivation across three facilities. A $15 million Series A closed in 2019. In 2020 the company set aside four fully automated greenhouses, 6,000 square feet in total, for social equity partners to use rent-free.
Emerald Cup placings and the 2026 shelf
The product has placed at the Emerald Cup. NUG lists three 2023 finishes: fourth in indoor flower for Chocolatina, third in live resin diamonds for White Buffalo OG and third in an edibles category for its sugar-free dark chocolate. The company also cites recognition at the High Times Cannabis Cup NorCal and HempCon.
In 2026 the house labels still run through NUG's own doors. Oakland and Alameda hold active state retail licenses, San Leandro's NUG Wellness is licensed for adult-use and medicinal sales, and the Sacramento store takes orders on Weedmaps. The home base stays at 1600 Broadway.
For adults 21 and over.