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Louise Lucas, the outspoken Virginia state senator whose offices and cannabis retail business were reportedly raided this week by the FBI, is a longtime public servant known for her outspoken style, marijuana advocacy and post-victory jubilation dancing.
On May 6, media outlets reported that the FBI raided Lucas’ office in her hometown of Portsmouth, Virginia, as well as the shop she co-owns called Cannabis Outlet. The raid was carried out as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, The Washington Post reported.
Mr. Lucas, 82, who has served in the state Senate since 1992 and is president pro tempore of the Senate, is one of the state’s most prominent and outspoken Democrats.
For example, in November, Mr. Lucas criticized Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson for failing to counter Republican efforts backed by President Donald Trump to redraw congressional maps in their favor, even as he praised the Democratic Party’s victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race.
“Say your victory in Virginia while aligning yourself with the MAGA talking points,” she said in a Nov. 5 post to X. “Raise a pair and stand up to this president.”
In December 2023, when someone at X suggested that her vote might be bought, she responded: “In the words of the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress in 1968, ‘I am not being bought and I am not being bossed.'”
Advocating for cannabis legalization
Lucas, who earned degrees in urban affairs and career industrial education, was one of the first women to graduate from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s apprenticeship program and became the first female shipyard mechanic in 1971, according to Norfolk State University.
She began her political career in 1984, becoming the first black woman elected to the Portsmouth City Council and then to the state’s 18-member council.th Since then, she has advocated for voting rights, expanded background checks for firearm purchases, and regulation of casino gambling.
Lucas is also an advocate for cannabis use, with the advocacy group NORML giving her an “A+” rating. According to the group, black Americans are arrested for marijuana possession violations at four times the rate of white Americans, even though both groups consume marijuana at roughly the same rate.
In 2021, Lucas sponsored Senate Bill 1406, which was signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam, making Virginia the first Southern state to legalize marijuana.
“Let’s talk about cannabis,” she wrote to X in 2022. “Yes, we legalized cannabis, and after legalizing it, I opened a cannabis outlet! But the job is not done. People are still in jail for what is legal today.”
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Lucas has also supported bills that would allow the medical use of marijuana oil, help create a retail marijuana market, and modify sentences for marijuana-related crimes.
Lucas’ dance becomes a hot topic
Lucas’ energetic dance went viral on social media, perhaps in response to a political victory or community event. In June 2023, during the state’s highly competitive Democratic primary in a redistricted district, she posted a reel on her Facebook page with the caption, “Dancing until June 20th.”th Election day! After her victory, news cameras captured her in blue, throwing her arms up in joy and saying “sazay”.
Mr. Lucas became an assistant professor at the school in 1994, managing research activities and procuring federal aid for retraining programs to offset shrinking military and defense industries in the region, according to Norfolk State.
In June 2020, Lucas was arrested for obstruction of justice during a racial justice rally in his hometown.
