Follow the Money: DOC Audit Reveals Millions in Misuse as Cannabis Enforcement Ramps Up

Published by Connecticut CannaTimes – July 29, 2025

By CT CannaTimes Staff

As Connecticut lawmakers and law enforcement double down on cannabis enforcement—raiding smoke shops, busting delivery drivers, and slapping down small-scale growers—the money trail tells another story.

While the state bleeds millions funding enforcement and prosecution, the new 2025 audit of the Department of Correction (DOC) reveals where that trail ends: in a broken, bloated prison system where taxpayer money vanishes into thin air.

Let’s break it down

DOC Audit Bombshell: Millions Misspent, Records Missing, Inmates Ignored

$834,955 Paid to Employees on Leave for Years

Nine DOC employees were on paid administrative leave for up to 3.5 years—long past the legal limit—collecting salaries they should never have received.

$173 Million in Overtime — Poorly Tracked and Questionable

DOC shelled out massive overtime payments without required documentation. Some employees not even eligible for overtime were still paid $67,000, and tracking systems flat-out didn’t match.

Payroll Abuses, Overpayments, and Union Time Gone Rogue

From excessive holiday pay to undocumented union leave (over 1,500 hours unapproved), DOC lost control of how money and time were being used—if at all.

$438,000 in Inmate Money Unreturned

Thousands of people who left DOC custody never received the money in their trust accounts. The DOC didn’t bother to update the list of unclaimed accounts for nearly a year.

Medication Given Late—or Not at All

Even basic medical care is slipping. One month reviewed found 79 meds given up to 7.5 hours late. Some were never given at all. No explanation.

What Does This Have to Do with Cannabis? Everything.

Let’s connect the dots.

Cannabis busts are surging across Connecticut. Delivery drivers. Gifting shops. Unlicensed cultivation. Thousands are being fined, arrested, or raided—mostly low-income or small-time operators. Where do those arrested go if prosecuted? DOC. How is that funded? With your cannabis tax dollars.

The state collects cannabis revenue. Then diverts millions to law enforcement. Arrests people over cannabis. Then hands them off to DOC—where hundreds of millions are wasted on payroll abuses, unapproved union leave, missing assets, and a broken medication system.

It’s a full-circle fiasco—and you’re paying for every part of it.

Same Failures. Every Year.

This isn’t new. 15 of 18 audit findings were repeat violations. Some date back more than a decade. Despite endless warnings, DOC still hasn’t fixed:

• Asset tracking (nearly $8 million in inventory mismatches)
• Overtime abuse
• Missing employee training
• Faulty medication delivery
• Lack of hiring documentation (yes, some weren’t even fingerprinted)

Cannabis Justice? Or Corporate Injustice?

While cannabis corporations rake in millions, and the state targets small-time growers with felony charges, the very system that holds arrestees is on life support. This is not equity. It’s exploitation.

If Connecticut truly cared about public safety, it wouldn’t spend $173 million in untraceable overtime while punishing people for growing plants.

Think About It:

Arrest over a few ounces = Jail

$834,000 paid to someone on leave for 3.5 years = Just another day at DOC

CT CannaTimes says: Enough. Defund broken cannabis enforcement. Stop fueling DOC dysfunction with cannabis revenue. Rein in the waste. Return cannabis justice to the people.