High-rises dot the cityscape on Nov. 4, 2019, in downtown Denver.
Mona Zhang/POLITICO

When he first moved in, the place was a plain whitebox Benjamin ultimatelyrenovated himself. He had an assist from local artists, who filled his backyard space with colorful murals.

“I’m a small business owner,” he said. “I didn’t have the budget to come in and just do a whole remodel.”

Benjamin is now planning to reopen next month and there are other signs the city’s diversity efforts could be heading in the right direction.

Denver’s marijuana regulator will soon introduce legislation to the city council designed to address some of the issues hampering the program.The measure would bar dispensaries from ferrying cannabis themselves entirely and slash licensing fees for setting up delivery businesses.

And while existing businesses have proved reluctantto work with social equity delivery services, some of thoseapplicants have gotten off the ground thanks to interest from existing operators and the Color of Cannabis program.

Desiree Duran, a social equity applicant who received a license to do deliveries, was demoralized when she kept getting rejected by dispensaries she sought partnerships with.

Duran decided to pivot, inspired by her cousin who was already making infused cannabis products at home for her husband’s medical condition. She was inspired by the sweets of her childhood — Mexican pastries called pan dulce.

The program helped connect her with an existing manufacturer that liked her vision of infused pan dulce, unlike the naysayers she’s heard question her ability to enter upscale markets like Aspen. The manufacturer offered to let her use his kitchen space to help get her business off the ground.

“I have no access to funding. I have no connections,” said Duran, who went through Woodson’s course. “If it wasn’t for Color of Cannabis, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”