Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura Calls On Marijuana Consumers To Boycott State Fair For Banning Cannabis But Allowing Alcohol And Tobacco

Minnesota’s former governor is calling on people to boycott this year’s State Fair for prohibiting marijuana use at the venue while at the same time allowing attendees to consume alcohol and tobacco—even though the state enacted a cannabis legalization law last year. But while Jesse Venture is fired up about the fair’s policy, he’s also optimistic about the prospects of federal marijuana reform under a Harris-Walz administration.

In an interview with Marijuana Moment on Thursday, Ventura said he does hope that Vice President Harris Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee, and her running mate, current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), advocate for an end to federal cannabis prohibition on the campaign trail, saying it would be “smart for them to do so” given the popularity of the issue.

“If they would come out and say they would lift the federal ban on cannabis, marijuana, I think that could help ensure their victory,” he said. “There is a tremendous amount of cannabis users out there who would vote accordingly so that they would not feel, federally, like they’re still criminals in any way, shape or form.”

During her time in the Senate, Harris sponsored a comprehensive marijuana legalization bill, and she’s called for major reform as recently as March during a roundtable with presidential pardon recipients. Walz signed cannabis legalization into law in Minnesota last year—and he invited Ventura, a longstanding champion of reform, to attend the signing ceremony.

Despite Minnesota enacting legalization, however, Ventura says the State Fair is not allowing cannabis use, even as it makes accommodations for tobacco use in specific areas and will have alcohol available for purchase on-site at beer gardens and other vendors.

“It’s supposed to be legal in the state of Minnesota. How can they outlaw it at the State Fair when they allow tobacco and alcohol? And my point being is this: All we ask in the cannabis world is to treat us equally,” he said. “Treat us fairly. Treat us the same as you do tobacco and alcohol. And unfortunately, that’s not happening. We’re being discriminated against, even though it is now legal.”

“All cannabis smokers ought to boycott the State Fair,” Ventura, a former wrestler and actor, said. “Don’t go there until we’re given our equal rights and we’re treated equally to tobacco and alcohol.”

A spokesperson for the Minnesota State Fair confirmed in an email to Marijuana Moment that “the smoking and vaping of cannabis is prohibited on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds” during the 2024 event.

“This policy is in accordance with Minnesota law that prohibits the use and possession of cannabis in a location where the smoke, aerosol or vapor of a cannabis product could be inhaled by a minor,” the email said. “The sale of products containing THC and CBD is not permitted at the 2024 Minnesota State Fair.”

In a separate interview with WCCO-AM, Ventura said “you can go over there, get smashed on alcohol, go on a ride, and throw up all over everybody because you’ve been drinking.”

“They have 18 designated smoking places for tobacco, and yet they have banned cannabis,” he said.

While not all states that have legalized cannabis allow the product to be consumed or purchased at their respective state fairs, California made history this year with both marijuana sales and on-site consumption being permitted for the first time.

In New York, on-site cannabis use and sales were allowed at the State Fair in 2021 after adult-use legalization was enacted. However, the fair stopped permitting public consumption at last year’s event—though attendees could buy marijuana products from nearly a dozen local growers at a cannabis farmers market held in conjunction with the event.

Outside of state policy, Ventura also shared his perspective on national cannabis politics as the November election with Marijuana Moment. For example, asked about former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, the former governor said “you can’t trust” his comments on the issue, including his recent signaling that he’s inclined to back marijuana decriminalization as more states enact legalization.

“You’ve got to look at what he does, and Donald Trump is out for Donald Trump,” Ventura said. “If he thinks that supporting marijuana will help him get elected, he’ll temporarily support it until he gets elected, and when he’s elected, he’ll probably ignore it.”

It’d be a different story under Walz as vice president, Ventura said.

“You can trust him. He’s a man of integrity,” he said. “And if Governor Walz says they’re going to lift the federal prohibition—unless Kamala Harris vetoes him, which I don’t think she would—it’ll happen. That’s the kind of person he is.”

A Democratic senator sponsoring bipartisan cannabis banking legislation separately told Marijuana Moment this week that he believes if she’s elected president this November, she’ll “be ready to sign” marijuana reform bills into law. Other lawmakers similarly predicted more momentum on cannabis legalization at the state and federal levels under a Harris-Walz administration.

Meanwhile, back in April, Ventura told Marijuana Moment that he isn’t planning to run for elected office again in the foreseeable future, choosing instead to commit his “total focus” to his newly launched cannabis brand. If he was running, however, he said he’d make cannabis legalization a top campaign issue to align with the uniquely “loyal” base of consumers eager for reform.

For now, Jesse Ventura Farms is a hemp business, offering a line of cannabis products that are available nationwide 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’s legalization law that’s being implemented, he says he intends to expand the state-level operation.

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.