The allegations brought against Lucas and the other defendants claim that The Cannabis Outlet and The CBD Shoppe, where Lucas played a central leadership and ownership role, illegally sold marijuana for recreational use while posing as legitimate fronts for legal hemp and CBD.
The authorities had been investigating Lucas for years. In a PBS NewsHour coverage of Thursday’s indictment, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “We’re here today because of facts and evidence, which led to this investigation to begin many years ago.”
According to FBI Director Kash Patel, Lucas allegedly raked in millions of dollars through her racketeering operations.
“Miss Lucas for the last nearly five years accumulated nearly $5 million in ill-gotten gains through her criminal enterprise,” Patel said.
Federal prosecutors said that in a February call, Lucas was heard saying, “This is our last chance at generational wealth; I’ve got too old to not be greedy.”
Lucas, who has served as a Senator since 1992 and Senate President Pro Tempore since 2020, took to X to defend herself. In an Oct. 22 post, she wrote: “I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied. And I will not back down.”
How Senator Lucas allegedly sold marijuana despite state rules
While hemp and marijuana come from the same plant, they are not the same product, and the commercial sale of recreational marijuana is prohibited in Virginia –– although the state does allow licensed medical sales.
Lawmakers in the state moved earlier this year to create a legal cannabis market that will allow businesses to sell retail marijuana, according to Virginia Mercury. But the state’s retail market won’t officially open until July 2027, and federal law still treats cannabis as a completely illegal drug.
Through an establishment called the Lucas Enterprise, Senator Lucas and her daughter, Lisa Lucas-Burke, officially opened The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 2021, according to the DoJ’s press release –– the same year personal possession and cultivation of recreational marijuana was legalized. Another daughter, Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and grandson Ryan Eichelberger allegedly managed day-to-day distribution at the shop.
The Cannabis Outlet operated under an umbrella company called VA Freedom Life, which also served as the shell organization for The CBD Shoppe. Lucas partnered with Carlton Upton Jr. in 2019 to run VA Freedom Life, later listing herself as its President and CEO in February 2022, according to the DoJ.
