CU regents censure Wanda James over anti-marijuana campaign imagery controversy

OG Article  By: Micah Smith Watch Today's LIVE Episode on YouTube, X, and Rumble

July 03, 2025

Denver7's Micah Smith has followed this case from the beginning. Here's what Wednesday's vote means. The University of Colorado’s Board of Regents has voted to censure regent Wanda James following a spat over imagery used in an anti-marijuana campaign.

James called out the university in December when the CU Anschutz Medical Campus used images of a dark-skinned Black man and baby experiencing the negative effects of marijuana in an advertising campaign discouraging use of the drug.

The university revised the campaign after James raised her concerns. Still, some regents – Democrats included – believed James, the first Black woman to own a dispensary in Colorado, used her influence to get the images removed so the campaign didn’t hurt her business.

A censure is a formal reprimand that can be handed down after an investigation to a regent the board believes has violated policy. In a 7-1 vote Wednesday afternoon, the regents said James violated the board’s duty of care and duty of loyalty policies – Regent Policies 2.J.1 and 2.J.2.

James had also been accused of conflict of interest (Policy 2.A) but there was no mention of it during Wednesday’s vote.

James abstained from the vote. One Democrat, Nolbert Chavez, voted against the censure.

She has been removed from committee assignments and cannot represent the University as a regent at events.

Denver7’s Micah Smith spoke to James ahead of the vote. James stood by her decisions.

“Their allegations come back to the fact that somehow or another, speaking out against the university, or speaking out against this program somehow violated a fiduciary responsibility that I have to the university," she said. "However, I will say that my fiduciary responsibility to this university is to ensure that we do not put out racist and harmful images that are harmful."