Ricardo Baca

Ricardo Baca is a 20-year veteran journalist, keynote speaker, TEDx veteran and thought
leader in modern media and drug-policy circles. He served as The Denver Post’s first-ever
marijuana editor and founded news vertical The Cannabist, where he extensively covered the
advent of adult-use cannabis and related issues across the country and around the world, as
seen in the feature documentary Rolling Papers (Netflix).
In 2016, Ricardo launched Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency to work directly with
business leaders in highly regulated industries, including cannabis, energy and traditional
healthcare. Named Marketer of the Year by AdCann in 2019, Ricardo has received numerous
accolades for his trailblazing work covering drug policy, cannabis business and culture, and
continues to columnize and host podcasts for a number of top publications.