One of Colorado’s most prominent advocates for marijuana businesses is no longer with the industry trade organization he helped build.
Mike Elliott is now out as the longtime executive director of the Denver-rooted Marijuana Industry Group, sources confirmed. The reason for Elliott’s departure from MIG — a group he has long been synonymous with — is unknown.
Elliott guided the Medical Marijuana Industry Group as it transitioned into the Marijuana Industry Group — a move that coincided with Colorado and Washington’s historic votes that ushered in America’s recreational cannabis era. Elliott has been a fixture in 420-centric state legislature committees as well as related rule-making workgroups for years, and he’s also been a regular source for local and national journalists covering Colorado’s first-of-its-kind industry.
Elliott did not return a voicemail left Wednesday morning, but a MIG representative released a statement saying the organization is “stronger than ever” and has “launched a national search for a new executive director and will have someone on board soon.”
“Mike Elliott is no longer with MIG … Other than that, we don’t discuss personnel issues,” Tru Cannabis CEO Bruce Nassau, the incoming board chair of the Marijuana Industry Group, said in a statement. “Mike was a dedicated and talented ED, who made many outstanding contributions to the organization, the industry, and the people of Colorado. Mike left the MIG in excellent shape and we are continuing to work on the issues important to the industry and Colorado.”
