Virginia Senator Faces Legal Battle Over Cannabis Business

A prominent Virginia Democrat, Louise Lucas, is now facing federal charges tied to her cannabis business. She has been charged with racketeering and a money laundering conspiracy as part of a public corruption case involving a cannabis business she co-owns. The 82-year-old state senator and frequent critic of President Donald Trump surrendered to authorities and is now in custody with six others, including relatives, who are also in custody.

Lucas has been charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana. She said in a statement on social media that she will not be intimidated or back down. She grew up under Jim Crow and has seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. She spent her life fighting back and is not stopping now.

The investigation into Lucas predates the Trump administration, but the Justice Department’s move, just 12 days before a midterm election, is unusual, as federal authorities have typically avoided taking overt investigative steps against political figures so close to an election. Lucas is not up for reelection this year, but has ties to prominent Democrats who are on the ballot.

Lucas is arguably the most powerful statewide politician in Virginia, holding the purse as the chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. She told NBC Washington in an interview in June that it was awfully coincidental that the search came on the heels of her push to redistrict Virginia in favor of Democrats.

Virginia has legalized pot possession, but retail sales of recreational marijuana remain illegal in the state. Lucas has been a figure in Virginia politics since the 1980s, when she became the first Black woman elected to a city council seat in her native Portsmouth. She now is the first woman and first African American to serve as the Senate’s president pro tempore.