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15 stories and 12 public records mention SEC. Mentions are matched automatically from headlines and summaries.
A Connecticut CannaTimes investigation found that 91.6% of documented cannabis enforcement locations, 96.7% of search-warrant raids, and 92.7% of enforcement actions involving arrests occurred inside or within five miles of areas Connecticut designated as disproportionately harmed by the drug war.
Connecticut CannaTimes is hoping to connect with Derrick Gibbs of Budr Cannabis, Jocelyn Cerda of Shangri-La CT, and other social equity owners, equity joint venture partners, cannabis business operators, and individuals with firsthand experience navigating Connecticut’s licensed cannabis market.
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.
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.
A phrase buried within a June 2, 2026 Social Equity Council legislative update may raise uncomfortable questions for patients, advocates, and cannabis entrepreneurs across Connecticut.
A routine Connecticut Social Equity Council meeting took an unexpected turn on May 5 when a discussion about liability protections, legal disclaimers, and loan programs evolved into a public disagreement over the relationship between Council members and agency staff.
As Connecticut prepares to distribute millions of dollars in cannabis tax revenue through the Social Equity Council’s Reimagine & Revitalize (R2) Community Reinvestment Program, an uncomfortable question is emerging:
The Connecticut legislative session may be over, but the decisions made this year are going to shape the state’s cannabis market for years and now the Social Equity Council is once again allowing public comment at meetings.
Connecticut lawmakers quietly inserted a major cannabis power shift into HB 5222.
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.
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.
When the Social Equity Council (SEC) announced its 2025 “Partner Award” honorees this week, the post looked harmless — smiling photos, hashtags about leadership, polished talking points about “equity in action.”
The Connecticut Social Equity Council (SEC) was designed to give people harmed by cannabis prohibition a seat at the table. But every person with voting power on the Council already answers to the State.
Tomorrow, Thursday November 6, 2025, the Connecticut Social Equity Council (SEC) will convene its regular meeting to vote on an agenda item that has quietly raised eyebrows across the state:
A sweeping federal grand jury investigation into state-funded nonprofits and political favoritism in Connecticut is exposing deeper links to cannabis licensing, questionable grants, and influence-peddling—centered around Senator Douglas McCrory (D-Bloomfield) and his longtime associate, Sonserae “Cicero” Hamlin, operator of the startup nonprofit SHEBA (Society for Human Engagem
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2023, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Ojala Naeem, Social Equity Council member. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2024, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Ojala Naeem, Social Equity Council member. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2025, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Ojala Naeem, Social Equity Council member. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2021, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Brandon McGee, State Representative. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2022, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Brandon McGee, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Housing. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2023, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Brandon McGee, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Housing. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2024, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Brandon McGee, Executive Director, Social Equity Council. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2025, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Brandon McGee, Executive Director, Social Equity Council. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2022, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Ojala Naeem, Social Equity Council member. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2024, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Andrea Hawkins, Social Equity Council member. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2025, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Andrea Hawkins, Social Equity Council member. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
Annual Statement of Financial Interests (Form ETH-3) covering calendar year 2023, filed with the Connecticut Office of State Ethics by Andrea Hawkins, Social Equity Council member. Obtained by Connecticut CannaTimes through a Freedom of Information request. Published as received.
