Lewis Koski

Lewis Koski is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in formative marijuana policy,one of a small group of government executives who has been intimately involved in the development and implementation of marijuana policy from the infancy of medical marijuana through the realization of legalization. His leadership contributions and devotion to the thoughtful implementation of marijuana policy played a crucial role in achieving what has become one of the world’s most fully developed marijuana regulatory frameworks. He was the Director of the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division—the world’s first government agency dedicated to implementing medical and retail marijuana policy—and played a pivotal role in building and monitoring the state’s early marijuana policies. This included constructing innovative strategies to develop balanced regulations, launching the first marijuana inventory tracking system, and finding solutions to some of the biggest challenges Colorado faced as it developed and executed the complex and divisive mandates around the new marijuana laws. Lewis holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis on International Business and is a doctoral candidate in Public Administration with a focus on policy analysis and public participation in rulemaking. He also instructs a master’s level class at the University of Colorado, School of Public Affairs called “The Marijuana Policy Frontier”.