The Marijuana Policy Group LLC (MPG) is a consulting and research firm focused on legal cannabis markets. MPG helps governments design best-practice regulations and monitoring programs to meet public-sector goals. Private operators and investors rely upon MPG insights to excel in emerging legal markets for cannabis and hemp products. MPG was formed in 2014 by consultants and university researchers in Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Orens, a founding partner of MPG, has 10 years of experience in economic and policy consulting. His areas of expertise include public finance, market analysis, and regional economic analysis. Mr. Orens has completed numerous studies that analyze the relationships between markets, demographics, and government policy. Adam received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Rutgers University and has a master's degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Colorado State University. Adam's research related to the emerging marijuana market has been recognized by the New York Times, 60 Minutes, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Huffington Post. His recent studies in Colorado, Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Vermont and other states have examined many facets of medical and recreational marijuana markets, including providing estimates of annual marijuana consumption by residents, tourists and patients; production management methods; and market supply channels.
Mr. Barnes has a background in strategic consulting with Accenture, Oliver Wyman, and Mercer. Before joining MPG he helped lead Mercer's Workforce the Future initiative which helped organizations create corporate and human capital strategies that leverage disruptive technologies such as AI and robotics. Mr. Barnes has completed numerous strategy projects globally for government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, institutional capital companies and venture capital firms. Sal holds a B.B.A from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas and a M.B.A in Finance from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is active with numerous animal welfare, education and children's organizations. Sal sits on the advisory board of St. Edward's University and on the board of Candle Light Ranch. He spent 6 years as a Field Artillery Officer in the Texas National Guard.
Mr. Rowberry has extensive experience in developing custom analyses and reports for public and private sector clients in the marijuana industry. Recently, Mr. Rowberry has constructed a series of detailed financial models that provide clients with meaningful insight into local medical and retail marijuana markets. He has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.
Mr. Fortin is a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at Pantheon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1), where his dissertation focuses on the diverging evolution of the cannabis markets across Europe and the United States. He has lectured at numerous conferences worldwide, and University of Padua engaged him to develop lectures on the economics of medical cannabis within the first European certification program for doctors, psychologists and health operators. Mr. Fortin holds a Master degree in Economics (Copenhagen Business School), and a Bachelor of Business Administration (Ca Foscari University of Venice).
Miles Light was a founding
partner of the Marijuana Policy Group since November
2013.
In May, 2019 Dr. Light
stepped down from full-time engagement with the
MPG, but continues to work on selected projects.
Dr. Light is a Ph.D. economist from the University of
Colorado at Boulder. He was the lead author of the
Colorado Market Size and Demand Study in 2014,
developed THC equivalency measures, and
created the first ever "Marijuana Impact Model" for
Colorado. His focus is upon optimal design of cannabis
policy for government and lawmakers.
Outside of the cannabis sphere, Dr. Light provides economic and policy
analysis at the national level. His work is primarily
focused upon tax reform, international trade impacts,
and environmental policy.
Recent clients include the
European Delegation, World Bank,
and the countries of Barbados, Ukraine, Belarus,
U.A.E., Mongolia, Armenia, Vietnam, Colombia, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, and
Uzbekistan. His domestic clients include the US Department of Homeland
Security, US Army Corps of Engineers, Reclamation.
Contact Dr. Light by e-mail: 
Mr. Pickton has published and spoken on a range of economic topics, including resource development strategies and the influence of state and local regulations on private capital investments. Mr. Pickton has successfully managed economic and finance-oriented studies for state and local government agencies. His expertise includes measuring customer satisfaction, demand forecasting, and long-term supply plan development.
Ian Irvine is a professor of Economics at Concordia University in Montreal Canada. He has published about thirty peer-reviewed papers, many in the area of tobacco. His in-progress research focuses upon the tax revenues that will accrue in Canada from legalizing recreational marijuana; on the impact upon smokers of graphic warning labels on tobacco packages; on the impact of workplace bans on smoking behavior, and upon the information content of crowd-sourced marijuana-price data.
Mr. Saloga is a Ph.D. candidate in Policy Analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS), where his dissertation focuses on the market impacts of marijuana policy. While working as an assistant policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, Mr. Saloga collaborated on projects for the World Bank and USAID, and the National Institutes of Drug Abuse. He recently helped write a section on marijuana legalization for the United Nation's 2016 World Drug Report, and has presented his research at multiple international conferences. Mr. Saloga holds Masters degrees in Policy Analysis (PRGS) and Economics (Wichita State University), and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration (Kansas State University).
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