Kayvan Khalatbari

He co-founded one of the first dispensaries in Denver and, earlier this month, he sold it to Willie Nelson for his Willie’s Reserve operation. Now Kayvan Khalatbari, who was featured in our January 2, 2014, roundup of leading ganjapreneurs, is looking ahead to other ways he can contribute to Denver’s ever-evolving culture through art and advocacy. Khalatbari sat down with Westword to discuss what he’s doing next, his thoughts on Denver’s growth, and whether he’d consider another run for Denver City Council or even mayor.

Westword: Talk about the Cannabis Symposium in October.

Kayvan Khalatbari: It’s a symposium on October 26, which is the front end of the Marijuana Management Symposium the city throws at the convention center. We’re going to have a day totally committed to stewardship and have all these traditional folks, utility and technology people, operators in the industry, come and speak about what you can do right now that will impact the business positively and the environment positively, but also long-term best practices that we’re creating internally.

The who’s who of Colorado’s marijuana industry gathered Saturday night for the unveiling of Willie’s Reserve, Willie Nelson’s cannabis company.

To launch his new product, Nelson hosted two kick-off concerts, one last week in Washington state and another on Saturday, July 30, at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

“This event’s been a collection of the people that support the ideals of Willie Nelson. It’s a collection of people that understand that music and cannabis and culture and society all blend together really well,” says pioneering ganjapreneur Kayvan Khalatbari, who’s been working with Willie’s Reserve.