Van Patten was able to save money from his job at the newspaper to pay for his university studies abroad and in the U.S., first at the University of Valencia in Valencia, Spain, and later at the University of the Américas in Puebla, Mexico. As a university student in Mexico, he developed his lifelong passion for the cannabis plant. In 1976 Van Patten moved to Portland, Oregon, to be close to his parents after his father fell ill. He graduated from Portland State University in 1977.