Fulfilling a lifelong dream, the ex-Navy Seal and professional wrestler announced the new venture in a promotional video last week.
Only a handful of Americans have made indelible marks on several institutions and occupations during their lifetimes. Ted Williams, the Hall of Fame outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, also served as a highly decorated fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War. Similarly, several former star athletes, like Jim Brown, achieved success on the playing field and at the box office as highly successful action stars following their playing days.
However, there aren't many American celebrities with as interesting and varied a life as former Minnesota Governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Following his decorated military career as a Navy Seal, Ventura exploded into the world of professional wrestling, where he, along with other industry icons, helped take a predominantly regional spectator sport to the highest heights of fame and fortune as part of Vince McMahon's WWE juggernaut throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
He then parlayed his wrestling fame into a moderately successful acting career, appearing in blockbuster action vehicles, including "Predator," "The Running Man," and "Demolition Man." For most people, experiencing success in three distinctive arenas would be more than enough in a single lifetime. However, for Ventura, a new challenge was always around the corner.
After the lights, cameras, and action faded from his life, he turned to politics, where he next achieved success by becoming the 38th governor of his home state of Minnesota in 1999. A maverick throughout his life, Ventura was elected governor with the Reform Party and is the party's only candidate to win a major government office.
Now, at 72, Jesse is ready to take on a very different type of endeavor—as a cannabis entrepreneur. As first reported by Marijuana Moment, the former governor of the North Star state is launching his own cannabis brand, fulfilling a "lifelong dream" with the unveiling of a line of hemp products.
He first teased the notion of spearheading the cannabis brand last August when he previewed plans to enter the legal marijuana product space with items featuring his name and likeness, just a few months after Minnesota passed a measure legalizing adult-use cannabis sales.
Last week, the former governor realized that dream when he unveiled Jesse Ventura Farms, a hemp brand to be sold in a new partnership with the cannabis company Retro Bakery.
In a blog post discussing the new venture, Ventura said, "I can't tell you how truly amazing this feels. To finally be able to LEGALLY share with you, products from a plant that has had such an amazing impact on my life. Not to mention the historical significance of being the first U.S. governor to officially put his name on a cannabis brand. Each step brings us closer to finally ending this tragic and dangerous war on drugs."
"I can't tell you how truly amazing this feels. To finally be able to LEGALLY share with you, products from a plant that has had such an amazing impact on my life. Not to mention the historical significance of being the first U.S. governor to officially put his name on a cannabis brand. Each step brings us closer to finally ending this tragic and dangerous war on drugs."
- Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura
A long-time and passionate advocate for cannabis reform, Ventura was invited to participate in the historic ceremonial bill signing when current Gov. Tim Walz (D) gave his final signatory approval of the much-anticipated legalization measure last May.
In a separate promotional video announcing the brand launch, Ventura stated he's a "huge supporter of the cannabis industry" and that marijuana "saved my family's life." As a registered Minnesota medical cannabis patient, the former governor said last year that cannabis has helped him treat the non-specific neuropathy in his feet, a condition that causes numbness and an uncomfortable tingling sensation, post-traumatic stress, and sleep.
However, his true passion for cannabis reform emerged several decades earlier when his wife was diagnosed with a debilitating seizure disorder that did not respond at all to the traditional Big Pharma products she was being prescribed.
Desperate to help his beloved and ailing soulmate, Ventura has spoken publicly on several occasions about how he made the gut-wrenching decision to break the law by taking his wife all the way to Colorado to secure cannabis oil from a friend to help alleviate her suffering, long before Minnesota even had a legal medical cannabis program. Not surprisingly, after she began taking cannabis, the former first lady of Minnesota never had another seizure.
While he is content to stick with only federally legal hemp-based products for now, once the adult-use cannabis market launches sometime next Spring, Ventura anticipates switching to or incorporating a full line of legal cannabis products as well. For now, he's just happy to be able to provide items that help Minnesotans achieve the physical and emotional peace of mind he and his wife have experienced from cannabis.