Jesse Ventura, the former Governor of Minnesota, has announced his entry into the cannabis industry. He has partnered with a Columbia Heights hemp company to create Ventura-branded lines of edibles. Ventura expressed his excitement about being the first U.S. Governor to officially put his name on a Cannabis brand in a statement.
After meeting with numerous cannabis companies, Ventura selected Retro Bakery, a Black-owned small business near where he raised his family, to produce the products bearing his name. The collaboration between Ventura and cannabis edibles company Retro Bakery will be named “Jesse Ventura Farms.” All products will be developed by Retro Bakery using Jesse’s name and intellectual property for various product lines in the future. A portion of the proceeds from specific products will be donated to charities supporting environmental cleanup, veterans, and individuals affected by the war on drugs.
Ventura has been a vocal proponent of marijuana legalization for many years and testified in favor of it at the State Capitol. He shared a personal story of how the drug helped alleviate his wife’s seizures a decade ago. Last year, when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana, Ventura and his wife were present at the signing ceremony, showing their support for the initiative.
