Press

2023

August 7, 2023 Cannabis Now: Breaking boundaries is second nature to dispensary owner Wanda James.
July 5, 2023 Colorado Women Chamber’s of Commerce: Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business
June 28, 2023 Colorado Politics: 7 former Denver mayoral candidates to help Mike Johnston transition into office
June 22, 2023 Marijuana Moment: Schumer Is ‘Confident’ Marijuana Banking Bill Will Pass This Session, According To Cannabis Entrepreneur Who Spoke To Majority Leader
May 15, 2023 NJ COM Several Cannabis Business Franchises Enter N.J’S Legal Weed Market
April 25, 2023 The Washington Post How to be a good weed tourist
April 20, 2023  CU Independent CU Independent Regents discuss future of weapons policy more students speak out
April 19, 2023 Axios Denver What Denver’s Black leaders expect from the next mayor.
March 10, 2023 Yellow Scene Magazine A coalition of bi-partisan Black leaders in Denver stands together to condemn anti-Blackness in the 2023 municipal elections
March 7, 2023 Cannabis Business Times New Jersey’s Burgeoning Cannabis Garden Set for Expansion
March 10, 2023 Green Market Report Beyond Social Media: How to Effectively Market Your Cannabis Company
March 3, 2023 Benzinga Pioneering Women In Cannabis: Honoring Their Achievements During Women’s History Month And Beyond
February 3, 2023 CU Boulder Today Energized crowd welcomes new African and African American studies center to campus
1/15/2023 The Washington Post Efforts to Make Legal Cannabis Industry Equitable Are Falling Flat

2022

December 2, 2022, Wall Street Journal Efforts to Make Legal Cannabis Industry Equitable Are Falling Flat
November 30, 2022 GH Gossip 9 Most Popular Cannabis Advocates in the World
November 9, 2022 Denver Post Democrats will control University of Colorado Board of Regents
October 22, 2022 NJ.Com Expansion and inclusion
Septmeber 8 , 2022 USA Today Cannabis startups should have the same opportunities as other businesses
June 6, 2022 Yellow Scene Magazine Board of Regents candidate reflects on the intersection of cannabis entrepreneurship, racial justice
May 25, 2022 Financial Post African-American industry pioneer, and vocal critic of its whiteness
June 2, 2022 Digital Journal Wanda James joins O’Cannabiz Conference & Expo as a Keynote Speaker
April 25, 2022 Cannabis & Tech Today 7 Highly Influential Cannabis Celebrities to Watch in 2022
April 20, 2022 XO NECOLE 5 Black Women Fighting To Decriminalize Weed
April 8, 2022 Westword Marijuana Makeover: Discovery+ Show Visits Colorado Dispensaries
February 28, 2022 Cannabis Business Times Legalize and Get It Done’: Q&A With Cannabis CEO Wanda James

2021

July 14, 2021 NBC News For some Black women, cannabis use is a ‘radical act’ of self-care

July 13, 2021 Denver 9News Denver dispensary owner honored for her fight for social justice

July 7, 2021 Denver Westword Ten All-Stars Who Are Real Game-Changers in Denver

May 4, 2021 CEA Awards Winners Announced for the 2021 CEA Awards

May 1, 2021 Deadline ‘Smoke: Marijuana + Black America’ Director Says African Americans Shafted On Pot Policing, Pot Business – Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted

April 20, 2021 Forbes Welcome To The Last Illegal 420

April 8, 2021 Aspen Times High Country: Legalization lessons learned from Arcview’s Colorado Town Hall

March 8, 2021 Benzinga Women’s History Month: The Women of Cannabis Advocacy And Legalization

March 8, 2021 The Grio Wanda James is on a mission to generate opportunities for BIPOC within cannabis industry

February 9, 2021 Denver Post Colorado marijuana sales hit $2.2 billion in highest-selling year yet

January 22, 2021 CNBC For Wanda James being in the cannabis industry isn’t about making money; it’s about social justice

January 21, 2021 Cannabis Dispensary Magazine Simply Pure Developing Franchise Model, Cause-Based Brand

January, 2021 5280 Magazine The Push to Diversify Colorado’s Cannabis Industry

2020

November 17, 2020 BET Marijuana Dispensary Owner Details What Black People Face When They Enter The Business

September 21, 2020 Thrillist These Cannabis Brands Aren’t Puff Puff Passing on Activism

June 29, 2020 Colorado Politics Polis signs social equity bill for Colorado marijuana industry

June 10, 2020 MJBizDaily Study: Denver cannabis companies mostly white-owned, lacking social equity

June 3, 2020 Green Entrepreneur Black-Owned Cannabis Businesses You Can Support Right Now

April 20, 2020 Black Enterprise Check Out These Black-Owned Cannabis Dispensaries For 4/20

April 11, 2020 NBC News No federal relief: Cannabis businesses cry for help as coronavirus batters industry

March 27, 2020 Politico Cannabis finds its moment amid coronavirus outbreak

March 20,2020 USA Today Will legal marijuana stores close? Americans stock up on pot for coronavirus quarantine

February 1, 2020 Chciago Sun Times Cannabis Resource Fair attendees reflect on 1st month of legal weed: ‘The bar set here is tremendous’

January 31, 2020 Chicago Sun Times Nation’s 1st African American pot shop owner laments: ‘We still need more ownership by black and brown people

2019

November 9, 2019 Denver Westword Veteran-Owned Cannabis Companies That Call Colorado Home

November 8, 2019 The Document Journal What it’s actually like to own a marijuana dispensary as a woman of color in Colorado

July 24, 2019 Civilized Nadler, Harris to introduce bill decriminalizing pot, expunge marijuana convictions

July 16, 2019 Weedmaps High City Guide: Where to Buy Weed in Denver

July 7. 2019 Mic 6 minority-owned cannabis companies that are addressing inequality in the industry

July 2, 2019 The London Evening Standard Cannabis Debate: The Merrill Lynch venture capitalist turned marijuana millionaire

June 30, 2019 The New York Times Madness or Pot Paradise? The Surprising Legacy of the Place Where Legal Weed Began

April 23, 2019 NewsOne The Black Women Who Are Going Green

April 19, 2019 Weedmaps Denver Dispensaries Expect Huge 4/20 Sales. Here’s What Will Be in Store

April 19, 2019 Newsy Why People Of Color Are Being Shut Out Of The Cannabis Industry

April 18, 2019 Westword Scott Durrah, City Council Candidate, Wins VICELAND Cannabis Cookoff

March 29, 2019 Denver Post In Denver, a council candidate will smoke weed with you and make you dinner

March 20, 2019 Westword Why Colorado Tokers Love Pootie Tang

March 8, 2019 Cannabis Dispensary Magazine The Women of Cannabis Conference 2019

February 11, 2019 Leafly 9 Cannabis Couples Who Changed the Game

February 6, 2019 Fox San Antonio The fight to legalize marijuana

January 25, 2019 Benzinga Pot Stocks, ETFs, Top News And Data From The Cannabis Industry This Week

January 25, 2019 Westword Pot Industry Veteran Scott Durrah Running for Denver City Council

January 21, 2019 PBS News Hour Consumption of marijuana edibles rises amidst scarce research into their health impact

January 15, 2019 Marijuana Business Daily Top business lessons from 5 years of legal recreational cannabis sales in Colorado

January 7, 2019 Denver 7 News Crews shutdown Highlands sidewalk, angering residents, business owners; Contact7 helps fix

2018

December 18, 2018 Cannabis Business Times 12 Cannabis Industry Power Couples

November 23, 2018 Civilized Can Cannabis Actually Be a Feminist Industry?

November 16, 2018 Civilized “I Don’t Know that a Single Dispensary Owner Can Survive”: Entrepreneurs of Color are Being Left Out of the Cannabis Boom

November 1, 2018 WNYC A Cannabis Pioneer’s ‘Lonely’ Place in the Industry

October 16, 2018 CBC Radio What Canada can learn about legal pot from Colorado

September 25, 2018 NRP, MI Radio Legal recreational pot will likely affect public health & medicinal marijuana in Michigan

September 14, 2018 NJTV News Applicants vie for six new medical marijuana dispensary licenses

August 23, 2018 UpRoxx These Chefs Are Killing The Cannabis Culinary Game

August 22, 2018 | Westword | Weed Porn: The Grow-Off Announces Top Recreational Growers

August 9 2018 | WNYC News | Chance for NJ Medical Marijuana License Draws Hundreds of Applicants

June 13, 2018 | Civilized | Four Things Canada Needs to Think About During The Legislation Process

June 12, 2018 | Colorado Public Radio | Where’s Colorado Cannabis Headed? We Ask 3 Entrepreneurs for Their Predictions

June 12, 2018 | High Times Cannabis | The 15 Best Marijuana Dispensaries in Denver

May 11, 2018 | Westword | Are Changes Ahead for Denver’s Cannabis Consumption Program?

April 20, 2018 | Leafly | Live Coverage of the Biggest Day in Cannabis

April 20, 2018 | Newsone | Celebrate 420 With Black Power –Plus Black-Owned Cannabis Businesses You Can Choose From

April 18, 2018 | Colorado Springs Independent | Strain Review: Black Power

March 21, 2018 | CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | What Canada Can Learn About Leagl Pot From Colorado

March 19, 2018 | Cassius | High-Powered: 5 Boss Ladies Making Marijuana Moves

March 5, 2018 | Westword | How Women Can Continue Rising in the Cannabis Industry

February 27, 2018 | NowThis | Living Legends: Wanda James – First African American Dispensary Owner

February 26, 2018 | Herb.Co | How this former Obama campaigner is changing the face of cannabis

February 9, 2018 | Pod Save America, Featured Local Guest | “A government eclipse.” (LIVE taping from Denver)

February 8, 2018 | Rewire | Cannabusiness Leaders of Color Are Already Breaking Barriers in the Industry, Their Communities

February 7, 2018 | NPR | Dimes Into Dollars: The Marijuana Economy

February 6, 2018 | Colorado Politics | Denver Highlands pot dispensary pushes back on redevelopment

February 6, 2018 | Westword | Wanda James: Illegal Construction Lane Closures Killing My Dispensary, Nearby Businesses

February 1, 2018 | Cannabis Dispensary Magazine, Cover Story | Wanda’s Way

January 7, 2018 | CBS 4 Denver | State Leaders: Rescinded Pot Policy Throws Colorado ‘Into Limbo’

2017

December 21, 2017 | Dope Magazine | Simply Pure: A Genuine and Passionate Cannabis Experience

November 24, 2017 | Freedom Leaf | How Cannabis Activists Derailed Roger Stone

November 3, 2017 | Westword | Amendment 64 OGs Take a Victory Lap with CSU

October 18, 2017 | Fast Company | This Weed Warrior Is Breaking Barriers In The Marijuana Movement

October 1, 2017 | CBS 4 Denver | New Rules For Marijuana Edibles Now In Effect

September 29, 2017 | Leafly | 12 Minority-Owned Cannabis Businesses That Are Shaping the Industry

August 23, 2017 | Boston Globe | Will legal pot be a chance for minority business owners?

July 31, 2017 | Dope Magazine | Women Owned Cannabis Business in Colorado Have Anointed August #BOSSWOMEN Month

June 26, 2017 | Merry Jane | Baked to Perfection: Become a BBQ Boss with Cannabis Leaf Stuffed Roast Pork Loin

April 20, 2017 | Ebony | 420 Day: 5 Blacks in the Marijuana Biz You Should Know

April 3, 2017 | Denverrite | Proposal to keep Denver’s marijuana stores open later gets first green light

March 23, 2017 | Colorado Public Radio | Just What Will Trump And Sessions Do? That’s What Colorado’s Pot Industry Wants To Know

March 20, 2017 | Leafly | 13 Fantastic Women-Owned Dispensaries to Support

February 17, 2017 | Yahoo | Weed & the American Family: Wanda & Scott

February 16, 2017 | The Cannabist | Other Roots: Wanda James, the first black dispensary owner in Colorado, talks marijuana motivation

February 10, 2017 | The Root | The Pioneer: Wanda James, the 1st Black Woman to Own a Marijuana Dispensary, Gets Real

2015

December 24, 2015 | The Cannabist Show | She Owns A Marijuana Show; He’s a Pot Baron

December 15, 2015 | Westword | Marijuana Comeback: Wanda James, Scott Durrah Return With Highland Pot Shop

December 7, 2015 | New Cannabis Ventures | Simply Pure Is Colorado’s First Black Owned Cannabis Dispensary

December 5, 2015 | Fusion | Diversity in Industry

November 25, 2015 | Black Enterprise Magazine | Marijuana Inc: Growing Opportunities For Black Businesses

August 17, 2015 | The Atlantic | American Dreams

April 20, 2015 | NBC News | Colorado’s Black Potreprenuers

April 20, 2015 | International Business Times | Marijuana Legalization 2015: Meet The 20 Most Influential People In Cannabis

April 1, 2015 | KUSA (9NEWS) | Colorado Teaching Jamaica About Pot?

March 31, 2015 | Fusion | The Unbearable Whiteness of the Marijuana Industry

March 24, 2015 | Fusion Network | w/ Ryan Nerz

March 11, 2015 | Fusion Network | w/ Ryan Nerz

January 8, 2015 | BBC | Flush with cash, marijuana entrepreneurs yearn for banking services

January 1, 2015 | KUSA (9NEWS) | Jamaican mayor tours Colorado pot businesses

January 1, 2015 | Jamaican News | Jamaican News

January 1, 2015 | Smile Jamaica | Colorado, Cannabis Global Initiative

January 1, 2015 | Smile Jamaica | Weed Conference, Dr. Andre Haughton – Lecturer, Department of Economic, UWI | Wanda James – Owner, Cannabis Global Initiative (Oct 2014)

January 1, 2015 | TV J News – CBS Affiliate | TV J News – CBS Affiliate

2014

December 16, 2014 | Al Jazeera AJ+ | Diversity in Industry

October 1, 2014 | CNBC | Marijuana USA (Full Episode)

January 20, 2014 | Jamaica Observer | Obama Fundraiser at Ganja Event

January 18, 2014 | Jamaica Observer | US activists for today’s ganja forum

2012

April 20, 2012 | The Raw Story | Obama financier-turned pot shop owner: ‘They can’t criminalize us’

February 24, 2012 | The Durango Herald | To puff or to chew? Wide variety of marijuana munchies an alternative to smoking

2011

November 17, 2011 | Bloomberg | Marketing Marijuana in Colorado as Dispensaries Allowed Profit

August 14, 2011 | The Sacramento Bee | Colorado’s medical pot business is for-profit, regulated – and thriving

May 2, 2011 | The Daily Show | The Dope On Cannabis Cuisine

January 31, 2011 | Fox News | Simply Pure Chefs

January 4, 2011 | Westword | Wanda and Scott have a new edible company

2010

December 12, 2010 | NBC Nightly News | Pot entrepreneurs smell opportunity in medical laws

November 23, 2010 | CNBC | CBS-Marijuana USA (Trailer)

July 27, 2010 | Westword | Dispensary owner & vet Wanda James lauds new PTSD rules, calls for pot rescheduling

May 5, 2010 | The Daily Show | Gone to Pot

2009

1997

February 1, 1997 | Black Enterprise Magazine | Go For It!