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Public Records, FOIA and Transparency
What Connecticut agencies release, what they withhold, and what the records show: the Pequot compact production, financial disclosures, audits, and the state's positions on public access.
Much of this publication’s reporting rests on records obtained under Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act. This investigation gathers the stories built from those productions and links them to the records themselves, so readers can check the reporting against the source: the Department of Consumer Protection’s Pequot compact file, the Statements of Financial Interests filed by the officials who regulate cannabis, and the Attorney General’s settlement records.
Main story
Lamont Administration Worked on Tribal Compact for 20 Months; Industry Got 45 Minutes' Notice
DCP records show the Governor’s Office was “primarily responsible for negotiating” an agreement that created a separately regulated tribal cannabis market connected directly to Connecticut’s existing industry.
Recent developments
- DCP Faces October 26 Deadline on Testing Transparency and Patient Oversight PetitionOctober 8, 2026 · Patients & Testing
- Connecticut Has Quietly Tested Hundreds of Cannabis Products. Now It Is Expanding Its Reference LabSeptember 23, 2026 · Patients & Testing
- First State Audit Shows the Social Equity Council Still Wrestling With OversightJuly 29, 2026 · Social Equity
Timeline
- October 17, 2026The DCP compact production, the Office of State Ethics SFIs and the AG settlement file are published in the Documents archive.
- October 8, 2026StoryDCP Faces October 26 Deadline on Testing Transparency and Patient Oversight Petition
- October 2, 2026StoryLamont Administration Worked on Tribal Compact for 20 Months; Industry Got 45 Minutes' Notice
- September 27, 2026CorrectionCorrection to "Connecticut Has Quietly Tested Hundreds of Cannabis Products. Now It Is Expanding Its Reference Lab": This article described the state's cannabis reference laboratory at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station as new. It is not. CAES has tested cannabis for the Department of Consumer Protection since a program that began July 1, 2022, and home growers could already obtain testing. What is new is the expansion into microbiological reference testing at the Griswold Research Center. A correction and updated report was published September 27, 2026.
- September 24, 2026StoryConnecticut Has Quietly Tested Hundreds of Cannabis Products. Now It Is Expanding Its Reference Lab
- July 29, 2026StoryFirst State Audit Shows the Social Equity Council Still Wrestling With Oversight
- June 29, 2026StoryConnecticut Opened a New Cannabis Lane While Its Market Came Under Constitutional Fire
- June 27, 2026StoryWhat Do You Want to Know? Let Us Do the Work
- June 26, 2026StoryThe Pequot Compact Shows the Licensing Barriers Were Always Manufactured
- June 26, 2026StoryThe Pequot Compact Puts Connecticut's Equity System Under Pressure From Both Sides
- June 18, 2026Governor Lamont and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation announce the cannabis compact.
- December 21, 2025StoryHB 7181 Quietly Changed How Cannabis Rules Are Made in Connecticut
- December 21, 2025StorySEC's Proposed E-Regulation: Lawmakers Were Warned About Exploitation, Then Allowed It
- December 17, 2025StorySEC Moves to Cut the Social Equity Exit Rule From Seven Years to Three Through DCP E-Regulations
- December 4, 2025StoryThe AG's Bid to Shield Legislative Records From FOIA, and Why It Matters
- November 21, 2025StoryAn Invitation to the Industry: Transparency and Community Perspective
- November 19, 2025StoryHi! People's Hartford Opening: Corporate Cannabis, HB 7181 and the Squeeze on the Gray Market
- November 19, 2025StoryStatement From Camp Laughing Grass
- November 7, 2025CorrectionCorrection to "The Hidden Empire: How the Zachs and Patels Captured the 'Equity' Cannabis Market": This article treated every Patel appearing in state license records as part of one extended group. That was incorrect. Pinkal Patel, a licensed pharmacist, appears only within Fine Fettle's equity joint venture network alongside the Zachs family. Kepal Patel and Nevil Patel lead Shangri-La, a separate retail and manufacturing company with no shared backers or addresses. A corrected version of the license analysis was published November 7, 2025.
- November 6, 2025StoryThe Hidden Empire: How the Zachs and Patels Captured the 'Equity' Cannabis Market
- November 3, 2025StoryState Records Confirm Silver Point Subsidiary Now Holds Theraplant's License
- October 16, 2025StoryARPA Funds Meant for a Downtown Market Appear Diverted Toward Dispensary Linked to Former Regulator
- September 16, 2025StoryCT Drug Control Director Steps Down Amid Cannabis Retaliation Scandal
- July 29, 2025StoryFollow the Money: DOC Audit Reveals Millions in Misuse as Cannabis Enforcement Ramps Up
- June 25, 2025StoryMedical Patients: Read This Before Sharing Your Story With the Cannabis Ombudsman
- June 3, 2025StoryHB 7181 Is Being Called Today
- March 18, 2025StoryWhat the DCP Audit Report (FY 2018-2020) Found
All stories in this investigation (23)
DCP Faces October 26 Deadline on Testing Transparency and Patient Oversight Petition
A formal petition submitted to Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) is calling for greater transparency in cannabis safety testing, expanded access to laboratory results, and stronger independent oversight of medical cannabis products.
Connecticut Has Quietly Tested Hundreds of Cannabis Products. Now It Is Expanding Its Reference Lab
State records show Connecticut has operated a government cannabis testing program for years, tested more than 265 samples submitted by regulators, and planned its laboratory as an oversight operation for private cannabis labs. Now the state is adding microbiological testing for mold, Aspergillus and other pathogens using qPCR.
First State Audit Shows the Social Equity Council Still Wrestling With Oversight
When former State Representative Brandon McGee became Executive Director of Connecticut’s Social Equity Council in August 2024, he inherited an agency at a turning point.
Connecticut Opened a New Cannabis Lane While Its Market Came Under Constitutional Fire
Connecticut Opened a New Cannabis Lane While Its Existing Market Came Under Constitutional Fire - Pequot Compact / Smith vs Lamont
What Do You Want to Know? Let Us Do the Work
At Connecticut CannaTimes, we don’t decide what’s important behind closed doors; we want you to help shape our investigations.
The Pequot Compact Shows the Licensing Barriers Were Always Manufactured
For years, the state treated cannabis licenses like golden tickets. Limited licenses. Lottery windows. Application fees. Social Equity Council reviews. DCP bottlenecks. Ownership audits. Residency tests. Income tests. Backer scrutiny. Management agreement restrictions. Years of delay.
The Pequot Compact Puts Connecticut's Equity System Under Pressure From Both Sides
Connecticut’s adult-use cannabis program was sold as “responsible and equitable.” But two records now point to a deeper structural problem.
HB 7181 Quietly Changed How Cannabis Rules Are Made in Connecticut
When Connecticut lawmakers passed HB 7181 in June 2025, most attention focused on enforcement, smoke shops, and cannabis penalties.
SEC's Proposed E-Regulation: Lawmakers Were Warned About Exploitation, Then Allowed It
Editors Note: As we reviewed the record for this article, the number of contradictions became impossible to ignore. Lawmakers warned that shortening social equity protections would increase exploitation risk, then later approved that change.
SEC Moves to Cut the Social Equity Exit Rule From Seven Years to Three Through DCP E-Regulations
Connecticut lawmakers warned this would happen. They warned who it would benefit. They warned it would gut social equity. And now, despite those warnings being made on the record, the Social Equity Council has formally proposed the very change legislators said would invite buyouts and push equity owners out.
The AG's Bid to Shield Legislative Records From FOIA, and Why It Matters
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is asking a court to rule that nearly all records created by the General Assembly — emails, drafts, communications, internal discussions — should be exempt from public disclosure, as long as they relate to “legitimate legislative activity.”
An Invitation to the Industry: Transparency and Community Perspective
At CT CannaTimes, our mission is to document Connecticut’s cannabis landscape with accuracy, independence, and fairness. Much of our reporting originates from community submissions and reader-provided tips, and we thank our audience for contributing to that ongoing public-interest work.
Hi! People's Hartford Opening: Corporate Cannabis, HB 7181 and the Squeeze on the Gray Market
Hi! People is promoting its Hartford “GRAND OPENING – Hartford’s Most Anticipated Event of 2025” at 306 Market Street, with live music, food trucks, “The Emerald Smoke Lounge,” “special vendors + CT’s favorite canna-brands,” “freshly stocked shelves,” promotions, and “exclusive discounts” for people who tag friends and RSVP.
Statement From Camp Laughing Grass
At CT CannaTimes, we operate as a reader-fed, independently verified news source. Much of our reporting originates from community submissions, public records, vendor concerns, and reader-supplied information.
The Hidden Empire: How the Zachs and Patels Captured the 'Equity' Cannabis Market
All data sourced from the Connecticut eLicense Lookup – verifiable public record (https://www.elicense.ct.gov/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx)
State Records Confirm Silver Point Subsidiary Now Holds Theraplant's License
Public records now confirm that DXR Finance 3, LLC, a corporate affiliate of Silver Point Capital, currently holds Connecticut Medical Marijuana Producer License MMPR.0000004 at 856 Echo Lake Road in Watertown — the same facility historically operated by Theraplant LLC.
ARPA Funds Meant for a Downtown Market Appear Diverted Toward Dispensary Linked to Former Regulator
A formal fraud-risk review request has been submitted to the Connecticut Auditors of Public Accounts, calling for an investigation into the City of Middletown’s use of $2.5 million in ARPA funds earmarked for Main Street redevelopment.
CT Drug Control Director Steps Down Amid Cannabis Retaliation Scandal
Rodrick Marriott, longtime head of the Department of Consumer Protection’s Drug Control Division, has resigned just weeks after a state investigation faulted him for his role in an unauthorized inspection of a cannabis cultivator. His last day at the agency was September 2, ending a 17-year career.
Follow the Money: DOC Audit Reveals Millions in Misuse as Cannabis Enforcement Ramps Up
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.
Medical Patients: Read This Before Sharing Your Story With the Cannabis Ombudsman
Connecticut medical cannabis patients are currently being asked by the state’s Cannabis Ombudsman to “share your medical marijuana story” through a public submission portal on the official state website.
HB 7181 Is Being Called Today
Connecticut Quietly Supercharges Cannabis Enforcement — Using Cannabis Tax Money to Do It
What the DCP Audit Report (FY 2018-2020) Found
The audit report for the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) identifies internal control deficiencies, compliance failures, and areas needing operational improvement. Below are the major concerns found in the report: