Former Governor Jesse Ventura’s Minnesota senate testimony in support of legalizing cannabis [FULL]

I'm I'm here because I started this and as Governor I believed in hemp and cannabis back then I believe in it even more now and I want to be here I'm still alive I'm still kicking and I want to be here when this passes into law because this is accumulation of a vision that I had over 20 years ago and now it's coming to hopefully fruition whatever the word is it's going to happen hopefully but I want to tell you two stories why I'm so passionate about cannabis and hemp and I please want you to listen to them first story is this cannabis saved my life let me sink that in not me personally but the 38th first lady of Minnesota and if I get choked up a little bear with me it was about 10 years ago first lady Terry Ventura started suffering from late stage seizures latent life seizures she was seizing two to three times a week and these were the type of seizures where you can't do anything but Comfort the person make sure their breathing make sure they're not swallowing their tongue everything like that our life was over we went to the doctors they put her on four different seizure medicines first one did not work first two did not work third one did not work fourth one did not work all had bad side effects in desperation we broke the law we drove to Colorado I have friends there that I met in my home in Mexico and when we got there my wife seized in the hotel the night before we got there When we arrive there uh our friends went in they had the ability they bought the Cannabis three drops under the tongue right my wife took the first three drops under the tongue and has not had a seizure since none marijuana cannabis stopped the seizures not our medicine now what did we face I had to break the law my friends had to send it to me in Minnesota well I kind of took the attitude of Dirty Harry Callahan when I said well then the law is wrong because I'm putting my wife ahead of Minnesota law and I'll admit that today I did so we got our what we needed Minnesota finally legalized quote medical my wife qualified immediately got it but you know what the story is then because we're so restrictive and that's what you're here to change today hopefully because it's so restrictive it cost me 600 a month to keep my wife seizure free insurance won't pay for it nobody will pay for what works they'll pay for what don't work but they won't pay for what worked and today my wife it's now because you've expanded it's down to 300 a month now if it was Colorado it would be fifty dollars a month why because in spirit of true capitalism when you get more out there it drives prices down that's what capitalism's supposed to do Drive prices down the way you're set up today you got a monopoly in Minnesota I don't know who's providing whatever but if you open up the doors will take hold prices will go down I don't want no other family to have to go through what my family went through I don't want anyone to have to do that what I went through my son Tyrell what was what was oh I know then here's the other thing and this is a little off the subject but it's still going to tie in you're going to have to come up with an age right how old are the people going to be when you approve this well we're going to go back in my life then 50 years ago at 18 I went into the United States Navy 18. I spent one year being trained and became a Navy SEAL I then deployed to Southeast Asia and Vietnam for a nine month deployment while I was in budge training underwater demolition SEAL training I turned 19 while I was deployed on my first deployment to Vietnam I turned 20. I returned home within one week I went into my executive officer and I demanded to go back to Vietnam he looked at me and said but you just got home you can't do that he said Navy requirements you got to be six months out of the combat zone before you can go back in then he asked the question what is the problem and I said here's the problem sir I said over there I'm a man here I'm a child I had done all of that nine months came back and I could not drink a beer on Orange Avenue because I was under 21. I couldn't even vote for who sent me to Vietnam because voting was 21 then I wasn't old enough what had I learn from that gee I guess we send children to war don't we isn't that a form of child abuse I would classify at that today I suffer a little post-traumatic stress and it's from that it's from knowing my country sent a child to war and it still exists today so pick your age are you an adult at 18 it seems to me you should be if you are able to go kill for your country or be killed for your country and you're old enough to do that you ought to be old enough to smoke a joint you're an adult and all I'm lecturing you on is this government get consistent come up with the age whatever it is and then stand by it don't have it be 18 here 21 here and I've even heard talk of 25 for cannabis give me a break I can tell you this unconditionally I've behaved far worse on alcohol than I ever have on cannabis thank you uh Governor the only bad thing I did on cannabis I went and saw Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin no no clapping members and us

Channel: FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

Views: 1,554,423

Keywords: news, cannabis, Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, Legalization, Medical Marijuana, pot

Id: D2YzC76Ojq8

Length: 7min 12sec (432 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 09 2023