Jesse Ventura: Minnesota Gov. Promised Me Legalization Will Be Top of Agenda

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said this week that the current occupant of the office is determined to get cannabis legalization over the line. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz secured a second term in Tuesday’s election, beating Republican challenger Scott Jensen 52% to 45%. That wasn’t the only good news of the night for Walz. Democrats in the state flipped the state Senate, giving the party control over the entire legislature. 

Ventura, who served as governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, said on his podcast that Walz gave him a call on Wednesday––and shared some news that will excite legalization advocates in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

“The sticking point for cannabis in Minnesota were Republicans in the (Senate),” Ventura said, as quoted by local news station Fox 9. “Well, they lost it now, and the governor reassured me that one of the first items that will be passed — Minnesota, get ready — cannabis is going to have its prohibition lifted. That’s the news I got today.”

Ventura endorsed Walz in his re-election campaign last month, and the former governor said the incumbent reached out to thank him for his support.

Ventura also said that Walz “invited him to attend the future bill signing ceremony,” according to Fox 9.

“The thing that honors me is I’ve been invited to when the bill gets signed,” Ventura said, as quoted by the station. “The current governor, he said, ‘This started with you, so you deserve to be there and see it come to a close over 20 years later.’”

Walz has long spoken in favor of legalizing cannabis for adults in the state. In January, he and his lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, introduced a budget proposal that included marijuana legalization.

The proposal included “a tax on marijuana, a measure to expunge non-violent marijuana-related convictions, the creation of a Cannabis Management Office and resources for substance-abuse prevention and treatment,” according to the Minnesota Reformer.

That proposal was met with immediate opposition from a coalition of various businesses, trade groups and other organizations that formed “Minnesotans Against Marijuana Legalization” earlier this year.

Democrats in the Minnesota state House have pushed legalization measures for years.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler helped pass a legalization bill in that chamber last year.

“The failed criminalization of cannabis has resulted in a legacy of racial injustice that can no longer go unaddressed,” Winkler said in a statement following its passage in 2021. “Adults deserve the freedom to decide whether to use cannabis, and our state government should play an important role in addressing legitimate concerns around youth access, public health, and road safety. Veterans and Minnesotans with serious illnesses like PTSD deserve better access to our medical program, which is not working well for most people. It’s time to legalize, expunge, and regulate.”

Walz not only has the legislature now on his side, but polls have shown that Minnesota voters are also ready to end pot prohibition in the state.

A survey from the Minneapolis Star Tribune in September found that 53% of voters in the state support the legalization of recreational pot use, while just 36% said they were opposed to the idea.

But those voters can still get high legally, thanks to a law that took effect in July allowing the sale of food and drink products containing small amounts of THC.

The law caught surprised some legislators, who had no idea that the bill they passed––which was aimed at providing stronger regulation on hemp-derived products––effectively legalized weed.