About the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division
The Marijuana Enforcement Division is tasked with licensing and regulating the Medical and Retail Marijuana industries in Colorado. Our mission is to promote public safety and reduce public harm by regulating the Colorado commercial marijuana industry through consistent administration of laws and strategic integration of process management, functional expertise, and innovative problem-solving.
The MED has offices in Lakewood, Colorado Springs, and Grand Junction. The MED’s licensing operations team provides both in-person and online licensing services to business owners and employees. The MED's investigations team conducts field inspections, investigations and outreach to verify and support compliance with state laws and regulations. Other operations include the Testing and Research team, responsible for monitoring product safety risks, conducting data analytics and reporting, and gathering data for Health and Safety Advisories; and the Policy team, responsible for managing legislative and rulemaking activities and stakeholder engagement.
Meet the leadership team
Senior Director
Dominique Mendiola
Dominique serves as the Senior Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue's Marijuana Enforcement Division and Natural Medicine Division. She is also the President of the Cannabis Regulators Association, a nonpartisan association of government agencies involved in cannabis regulation. She was elected to the CANNRA Board in 2022 and started her term as President in June 2024.
Mendiola began her work in marijuana policy and regulation with MED in 2014. She previously served as the Division’s Deputy Director where she managed rulemaking, licensing and media engagements for the Division. She also advised on policy and legal matters, facilitated stakeholder forums, and served as the primary liaison between the Division and Governor’s Office. Additionally, in 2018 former Gov. John Hickenlooper announced Mendiola as the state's Director of Marijuana Coordination, where she provided cross-agency coordination and advised on Colorado's cannabis framework. She served in this role for the remainder of his term.
Mendiola received her political science degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2009, and her law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College. Before joining the Marijuana Enforcement Division, she practiced law in Texas and Colorado, with a focus in civil litigation.
Deputy Director
Kyle Lambert
Kyle serves as the Deputy Director of the Marijuana Enforcement Division, where he leads the division's data, testing, criminal and compliance investigations teams. Previous to this role, Lambert managed intelligence oversight, training, and compliance investigations for the division.
Prior to joining the MED, Lambert was a middle school physical education teacher and boys lacrosse coach at Columbine High School in Littleton. He has his bachelor's degree in education from SUNY-Cortland and his master's degree in education from Grand Canyon University.
Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs
Allison Robinette
Allison is the Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the Marijuana Enforcement Division and the Natural Medicine Division within the Colorado Department of Revenue, where she leads the Division’s engagement in the legislative process and legislation implementation through rulemaking and compliance assistance efforts.
Previously, Robinette represented state agencies, including the Marijuana Enforcement Division, the Liquor Enforcement Division, the Division of Water Resources, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board as both general counsel and litigation counsel in her position as Assistant Attorney General at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. As an Assistant Attorney General, Robinette appeared before Boards and Commissions, in administrative hearings, and in district court, water court, and the appellate courts on behalf of her state agency clients.
Robinette has a law degree and legal certificate in environmental and natural resources law from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a bachelor's degree in Public Communication, with a minor in International Studies, from Truman State University.
Director of Licensing
Kasey Speyer
Kasey serves as the Director of Licensing for the Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division and Natural Medicine Division. Kasey leads the occupational and licensing processes for each Division. Previous to this role, Kasey served as the Chief of Staff for the Division of Professions and Occupations within the Department of Regulatory Agencies.
Prior to State employment Kasey held leadership positions in the private sector with oversight of clinical and customer service teams and provided direct mental health care in a variety of settings. Kasey has an MBA from Regis University, a master's degree in Science from University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia, and a master's degree in Education from Springfield College.
Communications Manager
Heather Draper
Heather is the primary public information contact for the Marijuana Enforcement Division and the Natural Medicine Division. In her role, develops communications strategies for each division, works with the media, creates internal and external communications, and manages website content.
Prior to joining the Department of Revenue, Heather worked in communications at U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo. She spent much of her career as a business reporter, working at a variety of media outlets including Dow Jones Newswires in Singapore, the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Business Journal. She received her bachelor's degree in public relations at the University of Northern Iowa and her master's degree in journalism at the University of Colorado-Boulder.