A pot law professorship? It's not a joke. The University of Denver Sturm College of Law is establishing what it believes is the first law school professorship in marijuana law and policy with a $45,000 gift from Vicente Sederberg, the self-described “marijuana law firm” in Denver.

The three-year professorship will go to Sam Kamin (left), who last semester taught the country's first law course about representing marijuana industry clients. The National Law Journal spoke with Vicente Sederberg founder Brian Vicente (below) about the donation and the role of the legal academy in the Wild West of marijuana law and policy. His answers have been edited for length.

NLJ: Where did the idea for the professorship came from?