{"id":74543,"date":"2024-04-23T06:47:05","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T14:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/04\/23\/dea-shouldnt-be-in-charge-of-marijuana-rescheduling-decision-jesse-ventura-says\/"},"modified":"2024-04-23T12:45:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T20:45:53","slug":"dea-shouldnt-be-in-charge-of-marijuana-rescheduling-decision-jesse-ventura-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/04\/23\/dea-shouldnt-be-in-charge-of-marijuana-rescheduling-decision-jesse-ventura-says\/","title":{"rendered":"DEA Shouldn\u2019t Be In Charge Of Marijuana Rescheduling Decision, Jesse Ventura Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura isn\u2019t planning to run for elected office again in the foreseeable future, choosing instead to commit his \u201ctotal focus\u201d to his newly launched cannabis brand<\/a>. But if he was running, he tells Marijuana Moment that he\u2019d make cannabis legalization a top campaign issue to align with the uniquely \u201cloyal\u201d base of consumers eager for reform.<\/p>\n

And if he had it his way, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would not<\/em> be the agency making drug scheduling decisions.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t always the case that politicians felt comfortable courting the marijuana community. Ventura knows that all too well. Back when he came out in favor of legalization while running for governor, the Independence Party told him\u2014incorrectly\u2014that he \u201cblew the entire election\u201d by embracing what was at the time a controversial topic that few elected officials were willing to broach. But voters ultimately rewarded him\u2014an early sign that the public might not consider marijuana the polarizing issue that many lawmakers made it out to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t hurt me a bit,\u201d Ventura told Marijuana Moment. \u201cIt actually, I think in the end, strengthened me because it showed the public I have balls enough to bring up topics that were real in life and not be the typical politician and sweep them under the rug and run from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today support for legalization is at a record high, with bipartisan majorities in favor of ending prohibition. Nearly half of the states in the nation have legalized marijuana for adult use. And Ventura is proud to now be making history again as the first major political figure to launch a cannabis brand with his name and likeness on it.<\/p>\n

For now, Jesse Ventura Farms is a hemp business, offering a line of cannabis products that are available nationwide<\/a> since the crop is federally legal as long as it contains no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight. But once Minnesota regulators begin licensing recreational marijuana businesses under the state\u2019s legalization law that\u2019s being implemented, he says he intends to expand the state-level operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to participate in every aspect of the cannabis business, and I look forward to it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ventura spoke with Marijuana Moment last week about his cannabis legacy, the evolving politics of marijuana, his new brand and more. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n

Marijuana Moment: You\u2019ve been in this game for decades. What does it feel like to see how far marijuana reform has come in Minnesota and nationwide?<\/h4>\n

Jesse Ventura:<\/strong> It\u2019s wonderful. I actually have experience with marijuana that goes back to 1969\u2014the end of the 60s\u2014and throughout my life. Coming from there to where we\u2019re at today, it\u2019s wonderful. It\u2019s just frustrating to think, \u201cMy God, it took over 50 years.\u201d It took over 50 years to educate the public to the point where they could get past all of this propaganda from William Randolph Hearst and finally legalize a plant that is a medical plant to begin with.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve already said publicly, I think the people that banned marijuana should be put in prison.<\/p>\n

MM: Most states have legalized cannabis in some form, but federal law still prohibits it. When do you think that\u2019s going to change?<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> Probably when we elect a president who\u2019s not in their 70s. I\u2019m saying that a little tongue-in-cheek, but if I were either one of these candidates [President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump], I would immediately advocate that you would legalize it and drop the federal everything because there are so many cannabis users. Look at all the votes you\u2019d get.<\/p>\n

MM: To that point, a recent poll showed about one in five American adults are regular marijuana consumers who\u2019ve used it 10 or more times in the past month.<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> As a person who knows about getting elected and how dynamic one out of five, 20 percent is, wow. I mean, if I were running right now, cannabis would be one of my major issues, because that\u2019s the one thing about cannabis smokers that I\u2019ve learned through the years is we\u2019re all very loyal to each other.<\/p>\n

MM: President Biden has been leaning into cannabis reform, albeit maintaining his opposition to broad legalization. But what do you think the chances are that Trump embraces the issue ahead of the election?<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know if Trump would have the courage to do that because it would depend on how much kickback there would be from the evangelical right. That, of course, is the core of his group. He\u2019s not going to do much to offend the core group, and him coming out saying he will drop the federal laws against cannabis, well, that could be a negative with his core group.<\/p>\n

MM: You\u2019ve championed reform for decades, but why did you decide to enter the cannabis industry now?<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> Because the time is right. And for me, it\u2019s because it\u2019s a personal issue. Cannabis, marijuana\u2014let me make a blunt statement\u2014saved my life.<\/p>\n

And when I say that, I don\u2019t mean me directly. But I\u2019ve been married, it\u2019ll be 49 years this summer. And what happened was, a decade ago, my wife developed late-in-life epileptic seizure disorders. In other words, my wife was seizing two to three times a week. And these were the type of seizures where you\u2019re holding her, she\u2019s on the floor, you\u2019re cradling her head, making sure she\u2019s not swallowing her tongue, ensuring she\u2019s breathing. These were the type of seizures that are life-threatening.<\/p>\n

We went to the doctor, and the doctors put her on four different types of seizure medicines, one after the other after the other after the other. None of them worked. They all had horrible side effects. In desperation, I learned about cannabis, and marijuana was having success stopping seizures. At the time, Colorado was the only state that had decriminalized. We physically drove to Colorado. We had friends there from Mexico. We drove to Colorado. The night before we got there, my wife had a seizure. We got to Colorado, my friends illegally went in and bought what was needed, drops under the tongue, came out and my wife illegally took them because we were not Colorado citizens. I can proudly say she has not had a seizure since.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s cannabis, marijuana, that did it and did it by itself. That\u2019s why Jesse Ventura is totally focused now. This is the focus. I\u2019m not focusing on movies. I don\u2019t focus on politics. I\u2019m joining Willie Nelson. I don\u2019t want any family to have to go through what I did.<\/p>\n

MM: There\u2019s bipartisan support for legalization now. But when you first endorsed the reform, it was a different story. How was your support at the time received?<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> Well, initially, the Independence Party said I blew the entire election. \u201cYou blew it. You\u2019ve lost it. There\u2019s no hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

And my friend, [former Sen. Dean Barkley] walked into the room, smoking his cigar, sat down in the chair and looked over at me and says, \u201cWell, he said, how do we take this lemon and turn it into lemonade?\u201d<\/p>\n

And I looked at Dean and said, \u201cDean, I don\u2019t know. Help me. What do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dean says, \u201cI got it.\u201d He said, \u201cWe\u2019re going out to the press and saying you\u2019re the only candidate with enough balls and enough guts to bring up real life problems and you\u2019re the only one with the courage and guts to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what we did. And the people [agreed] completely. They said, \u2018Yeah, here\u2019s a guy who will talk about problems and will be honest and forthcoming about them. It didn\u2019t hurt me a bit. It actually, I think in the end, strengthened me because it showed the public I have balls enough to bring up topics that were real in life and not be the typical politician and sweep them under the rug and run from them.<\/p>\n

MM: Right now your business is selling hemp products. Do you have any plans to expand to marijuana once Minnesota begins accepting licensing applications<\/a> under the legalization law?<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> We will be we will absolutely participate. We\u2019re going to participate in every aspect of the cannabis business. And I look forward to it.<\/p>\n

MM: Biden has issued marijuana pardons and initiated the cannabis scheduling review that\u2019s now being carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Can I get your thoughts about that process?<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> I guess the first thing that I did was I had to scratch my head and go, \u201cWhy is the DEA, the enforcement people, allowed to make the decisions on whether it should be legal or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

I mean, excuse me, they have the biggest conflict of interest of anybody on the planet, right? Because if they keep it illegal, that means they stay in business and they get way more money allocated to them by the federal government to continue to go out and bust people for cannabis. How come they\u2019re the deciding agency?<\/p>\n

Excuse my French, but that\u2019s bullshit. You know, that\u2019s like putting the police in charge of lawmaking. You elect people to make laws. The police merely enforce the law. Why are you allowing the enforcer of the law to make the law?<\/p>\n

MM: Minnesota lawmakers have also recently explored psychedelics reform, creating a task force to explore possible regulations for substances like psilocybin<\/a>? Are you in favor of that kind of reform as well?<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> Like anything, when you bridge things like that, you\u2019re giving responsibility to the people to conduct themselves accordingly. Now, you have to remember, some people are not going to do that. So you are going to have, for lack of better term, casualties. And it all depends upon society itself. Are they ready for the responsibility?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think hallucinogenics, where you actually see things that aren\u2019t there, like the mushrooms and things like that\u2014I\u2019m not too sure that they should be openly sold. I think that there should be a little bit more stipulation.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re high on pot and drive in the car, you\u2019re probably driving under the speed limit for the most part in my experience. The other things that make you see things that don\u2019t exist, that\u2019s a whole \u2018nother ballgame. So you run the risk with hallucinogenics of people operating equipment and cars and things of that nature where you would really have to be on top of it so that that things like that wouldn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think it should necessarily be against the law. You shouldn\u2019t go to jail. But I think the mechanism of getting hallucinogenics, there\u2019s a spot where you probably need to show a good ID and have a reason for it.<\/p>\n

MM: Is there anything else you\u2019d like to add about you current work?<\/h4>\n

JV:<\/strong> I\u2019d like to say is that I\u2019m super proud of our product. The taste of the product is fantastic. And I also want to tell people that we\u2019re not just doing this for profit. A lot of this stuff is going to have charitable and good things are going to come out of it.<\/p>\n

The other thing personally for me, I\u2019ve got all these multiple careers, but I have one more goal now. I want to be recognized, like Paul Newman is for spaghetti sauce. You have an entire generation of people out there that have no idea what a great actor Paul was or that he raced cars. The fact is they know him as the guy on the spaghetti sauce.<\/p>\n

I want Jesse Ventura to be known as the cannabis man. That\u2019s it. That\u2019s my new goal. I want to achieve the status Paul Newman has achieved with his spaghetti sauce and his food products. I want to achieve that same status with my marijuana, cannabis, joining Willie Nelson.<\/p>\n

\n

More Biden Voters Than Trump Voters Want To Live Where Marijuana Is Legal, But Majorities In Both Parties Support Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post DEA Shouldn\u2019t Be In Charge Of Marijuana Rescheduling Decision, Jesse Ventura Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura isn\u2019t planning to run for elected office again in the foreseeable future, choosing instead to commit his \u201ctotal focus\u201d to his newly launched cannabis brand. But if he was running, he tells Marijuana Moment that he\u2019d make cannabis legalization a top campaign issue to alignContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74543"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74544,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74543\/revisions\/74544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}