Attorney General Todd Blanche is emphasizing that the Department of Justice’s prosecution of a top Virginia senator for an alleged marijuana distribution, racketeering and money laundering conspiracy is not an indication that the Trump administration intends to interfere with state cannabis laws.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged Virginia Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas (D) with a series of allegations tied to a cannabis business she runs that purports to sell legal hemp products but which DOJ is alleging sold illegal marijuana.
A reporter asked Blanche at a press conference on Thursday about why he and FBI Director Kash Patel were announcing the marijuana-related prosecution in such a high-profile manner when the Trump administration is simultaneously moving to federally reschedule cannabis.
“There’s a lot more alleged in the RICO conspiracy than just legally selling marijuana,” the attorney general said, “Indeed, if that was all that was the investigation uncovered, we would not be here.”
“This isn’t about a citizen in Virginia lawfully getting a license, lawfully opening a shop that sells lawfully manufactured marijuana under the state laws of Virginia,” he said. “To the contrary, the indictment alleges something very, very different than that.”
“This isn’t about us trying to micromanage states’ decisions about the marijuana laws,” Blanche said. “And you’re right—we are going through a process at the federal level with marijuana laws.”
“But that’s not what the RICO conspiracy alleges in the indictment. That’s a very simplistic way to say it, and why we’re here. I think it’s it’s my responsibility and Director Patel’s responsibility to be open and transparent at the right times with with all of you with the American people about charges we’re bringing. She is a she’s been a member of the Senate in Virginia, I think, since 1990 or so… There’s been public reporting about this investigation for many months, and so we determined that it was appropriate to to have this press conference today. We’re not going to continue to speak about the case. We’re keeping it to the the charges as alleged in the indictment, but I think the public has a right to to hear from us at times like at times like this.”
Virginia legalized recreational marijuana possession and home cultivation in 2021 but did not pass legislation to provide for regulated sales of adult-use cannabis until this year, and no licenses have yet been awarded for retailers.
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