The state agency that determines the use of money to support communities impacted by the failed war on drugs and awards associated cannabis-related licenses was a dysfunctional workplace with little transparency and a lack of both procedures and a formal strategic plan, Comptroller Sean Scanlon said on Monday.
During a news conference that culminated a four-month investigation, Scanlon stressed that his office could not find alleged criminal behavior, but suggested that the "pause" ordered by Gov. Ned Lamont in the distribution of tens of millions of dollars from the Social Equity Council remain in place until the General Assembly meets in January and develops better ethical and procedural guidelines.
"What we did find, however, was questionable business practices and procedures that were troubling, subjective, and ambiguous," Scanlon said. Applicants were kept off balance by changing rules and poor communication, often given verbally with no written record. The program for loaning money to Social Equity applicants had major failures getting started.
"They have the money and they should continue to have the money," Scanlon said in the lobby of the State Office Building, stressing the need to restore public confidence in one of the hallmarks of Connecticut's legal cannabis program: helping minority communities get into the legal cannabis industry. "What I am saying is that before they expend that money, they should have better practices associated with how they disperse money whether it is the $30 million they have now or the $60 million they're going to have later."
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