News
Freedom Fighter: Jesse Ventura’s determination to help the cannabis movement
When
discussing former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, it’s almost easier to ask
what he hasn’t done in his lifetime, since his career path and list of
accomplishments is incredibly extensive
hen
discussing former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, it’s almost easier to ask
what he hasn’t done in his lifetime, since his career path and list of
accomplishments is incredibly extensive and varied. He served his country as a
Navy SEAL and member of the Underwater Demolition Team, and later on became a
veteran of the Vietnam War, had a successful career as a professional wrestler
and acted in movies like Predator, The Running Man and Demolition Man.
However,
even with such an impressive entertainment career and record of military
service, it is Ventura’s rise in politics which has garnered him the most
publicity in recent years. In 1990, Ventura began his political career by
defeating a 25-year incumbent and becoming Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Throughout
his entire time in politics, Governor Ventura has been a tireless campaigner
for the legalization of cannabis, and continues to advocate for an end to cannabis
prohibition on his web series, Off The
Grid on Ora TV. Recently, CULTURE
was able to catch up with Governor Ventura to hear all about his enthusiasm for
recent changes in cannabis laws around the country, as well as his passion for
ending cannabis prohibition.
You’ve been a long time supporter of the legalization of cannabis,
is it exciting for you to finally see the movement gaining a lot of momentum
and creating changes on the state and national levels?
If you look at it from a purely economic standpoint, it’s a
whole new job creator out there waiting to happen. We all know that jobs are
very, very important, it’s what runs the economy, and marijuana is so
versatile; from making clothing, to its medical uses, stopping seizures, treating
glaucoma and other medical conditions. So, to me, it’s an industry waiting to
happen.
an end to drug prohibition, always been something that you strongly believed
in, or was it an issue that took you some time to come around to?
No, I’ve always believed in it, because I’ve seen the hypocrisy
of it. To me it’s laughable that marijuana is referred to as a “gateway drug”—but
no, tobacco is the real gateway drug, and when used properly, the end result is
death. The second gateway drug is alcohol, which tends to enter your life long
before marijuana does, and you can overdose on it, you can drink yourself to
death. That doesn’t happen with marijuana, you can’t binge smoke and kill
yourself in a night.
Ventura discusses why individuals with cannabis convictions should be granted amnesty
Your show, Off The Grid, has commented on legalization,
and interviewed activists on the front lines of the movement. Why is this issue
so important to you?
It’s a whole economic issue waiting to happen, and the marijuana
plant itself is a remarkable plant. And we’re eradicating this plant?! You can
make fiber out of it, we’re trying to become energy independent and it makes
some of the best bio-diesel fuel on the planet, and for medical purposes,
they’re constantly discovering new uses for marijuana.
Since starting Off The Grid, and interviewing many cannabis
activists, is there anything new that you’ve learned which has strengthened
your view points on this issue?
Well one thing I learned was from having Tommy Chong on. And who
knows more about pot than Tommy? He’s the marijuana equivalent of having Albert
Einstein on to talk about physics. And Tommy said this to me, which I found
very enlightening, he said there should be no difference between medicinal
marijuana and recreational marijuana, they should get rid of the labels, it
should just be called “marijuana.”
As someone familiar with running political campaigns, what do
you see that legalization activists are doing right? What are things that you
think they can improve on?
What they’re doing right is doing it at the grass-roots level,
and when you start a garden, you start with seeds. Doing this on the
grass-roots level is something they should continue that press: Continue with
the education, keep helping people understand why Reefer Madness is
the most ridiculous movie ever made. They seem to be doing that very, very
well, and I love it because it shows the states flexing their muscle against
the federal government.
There is obviously still a lot of controversy regarding
legalization, do you think the national prohibition will end any time soon? Or
do you think it’s a change that’s going to need to happen on a state by state
basis first?
Before you see this happen on a federal level, it’s going to
take more states. And, if a Republican gets in the White House in the next
election, you may not see it at all. After all, it was Ronald Reagan who began
the war on drugs in the first place.
