Marijuana Business Owner Running For Congress Says Federal Legalization Is The ‘Only Path’ For ‘National Market Stability’

Colorado-based marijuana entrepreneur Wanda James is running for Congress,
pledging to push for a complete end to federal cannabis prohibition if
she’s elected. Anything short of legalization—whether that’s a bill focused
on industry banking access or another incremental reform such as
rescheduling—won’t cut it, she says.

James, who owns the Denver dispensary Simply Pure, is challenging Rep.
Diana DeGette (D-CO) in next year’s Democratic primary to represent
Colorado’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
She spoke about her cannabis legalization platform at a MJBizCon event on
Wednesday.

“No banking bill will save us. No half step will fix this. No incremental
tweak will correct decades of damage,” she said in a press release ahead of
the conference. “Only legalization gives this industry oxygen.”

“Only legalization ends 280E. Only legalization ends the raids. Only
legalization ends the fear,” she said, referring to the existing policy
preventing cannabis businesses from taking federal tax deductions and
broadly putting companies at risk of federal enforcement action. “Only
legalization stops the fragmented nonsense that destroys operators while
confusing the public.”

“And let me be very clear about something else,” she said. “This is not a
fight between hemp and cannabis. It is the same plant. The same history.
The same communities. The same families. The same disrespect. It’s time to
send someone to Congress who will meet the moment our industry demands.”

In a statement on her campaign site, James similarly said she will
“champion legislation to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act
(CSA) entirely” if elected. Simply rescheduling the plant or kicking the
can down the road with “administrative delays” is insufficient, she said.

“Full legalization. PERIOD,” she said. “This is the only way to move
forward with federal safety standards, interstate commerce, banking access,
and national market stability.”

“In Congress, I will work with reform-minded officials, veterans in both
parties, and economic innovation committees to ensure legalization is
implemented quickly, safely, and with strong public-health and consumer
protections,” James added.

Today, I’m launching #LegalizeNOW — not reschedule, not half-measures.⁰
Full federal legalization is the only path.⁰
It’s time for real leadership that meets the moment.
pic.twitter.com/YZa8BabjGA

— Wanda4congress (@wanda4congress) December 2, 2025

The campaign statement also said James would push for legislative reform
that involves putting marijuana tax revenue toward community reinvestment
initiatives supporting “affordable housing, mental-health services,
childcare assistance, public-school improvements, and neighborhood economic
development.”

“This approach ensures that legalization becomes a tool to lift families,
support working people, and rebuild ALL communities harmed by decades of
discriminatory and wasteful enforcement,” she said.

The candidate further said she’d “push for a federal equity framework that
ensures communities disproportionately impacted by criminalization receive
licensing priority, business development support, and access to federal
grants and low-interest capital.”

James said the regulatory approach to marijuana she’d support would prevent
“corporate consolidation from wiping out small operators and the pioneers
who built this industry.”

“I will fight for antitrust protections, federal loan access, and fair
interstate commerce rules that allow small businesses to compete without
being crushed by multinational interests,” she said. “And I will push for
clear federal packaging, testing, and transportation standards so
entrepreneurs can scale responsibly across state lines.”

Also, as a military veteran herself, James said she’d pursue reform that’d
allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend
medical cannabis to the veteran population “without fear of penalty or
bureaucratic barriers.”

In 2023, James approached then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
at an event focused on higher education and pressed him on stalled-out
marijuana banking legislation, expressing how Black entrepreneurs in the
industry are broadly supportive of the incremental reform to free up banks
and credit unions to work with state-licensed cannabis businesses.

“I would be thrilled to see more and more movement on this. However—make no
mistake—first and foremost, we must get basic banking over the finish
line,” she told Marijuana Moment at the time, adding that her own personal
bank accounts were closed recently due to her involvement in the marijuana
industry.

James is also an elected regent at the University of Colorado, and her role
in the marijuana industry became a point of contention leading to a formal
censure by the Board of Regents after she criticized an advertisement
campaign warning of the risks of cannabis use that she called racist
because of its portrayal of Black people using marijuana.

“This is a victory for me, because we have completely exposed the
University of Colorado’s issues with race,” she said of the censure. “We
have been able to lay them bare for the world to see, and I could not be
more proud of my community and the people who have stood with truth and
stood against anti-Blackness.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) responded to the board’s censure
action, writing that the “First Amendment protects the right to free
expression,” and neither “a White House executive order nor a public
university policy can override this fundamental right.”

The First Amendment protects the right to free expression. Neither a White
House executive order nor a public university policy can override this
fundamental right. I am concerned that the CU Board of Regents action
sanctioning Regent Wanda James did just that. Thread 👇

— Phil Weiser (@pweiser) July 14, 2025

“I am concerned that the CU Board of Regents action sanctioning Regent
Wanda James did just that,” he said. “To protect the right of free
expression and the fair treatment of CU Regent James, the Board of Regents
would do well to reconsider its action against her. Leaving this action in
place not only raises questions of fairness, it undermines CD1’s
representation on the Board.”


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Last year, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) called James a “force of nature,”
recognizing her influence in the marijuana policy debate and historic role
in Colorado’s cannabis program.

DeGette, the incumbent congresswoman whose seat James is running for, is
also supportive of marijuana reform. For example, she’s sponsored
legislation—as well as an appropriation rider—to prevent federal
interference in state cannabis laws.

The post Marijuana Business Owner Running For Congress Says Federal
Legalization Is The ‘Only Path’ For ‘National Market Stability’ appeared
first on Marijuana Moment.