Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon said his four-month investigation into the Social Equity Council — the government body that was set up to ensure the state's new recreational marijuana industry also benefits the communities that were hit hardest by the war on drugs — found no "evidence of criminal wrongdoing."
But the report confirmed some of the complaints that have been leveled at the council, and Scanlon recommended a number of key reforms, along with a continued hold on the expenditure of any of the council's funds.
The council, which is responsible for approving applications from marijuana businesses and reinvesting the money generated from licensing those operations, has been in a state of upheaval for months due to infighting over how the body has operated and appropriated money.
The review was requested by Gov. Ned Lamont and the legislature's Black and Puerto Rican Caucus. The comptroller's team found that there were significant delays in the council staff reviewing and approving the Social Equity Plans that are required for any cultivator, retailer or delivery service seeking a cannabis license.
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