Former Governor Jesse Ventura Boycotting Minnesota State Fair, Asks Others To Join Him

Anyone who knows anything about former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura knows he's not afraid to speak his mind.

His most recent statements grabbing headlines are about the Minnesota State Fair. In the lead-up to the 2024 Great Minnesota Get-Together, "The Body" commented that he will be boycotting the State Fair and is encouraging others to join him.

Why is Jesse Ventura boycotting the State Fair?

In a recent interview with a Twin Cities radio station (via BMTN), Ventura shared frustrations with the State Fair's policies regarding cannabis. Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana in 2023, but the fair's policy continues to ban marijuana from the fairgrounds.

In the fair's FAQ section on their website, they explain "marijuana smoking is prohibited throughout the fairgrounds", which includes in designated smoking areas where people are still allowed to use tobacco/nicotine products.

Ventura questions this policy, arguing "They allow alcohol to be drank on the fairgrounds. You can go over there, get smashed on alcohol, go on a ride, and throw up all over everybody because you've been drinking. That's perfectly fine". He continued "They have 18 designated smoking places for tobacco, and yet they have banned cannabis."

READ MORE: Why one Minnesota State Fair Grandstand show will be extra special this year

Because of this policy, Ventura says he will be boycotting the fair and encourages all other cannabis users to join him, saying "I urge all cannabis users to make it known you're not going to the state fair either until they treat cannabis the same as they do alcohol."

In the interview, he mentioned he had initially planned on going to the fair this year, saying "I was going to go. I'm not going now. I'm protesting because they will not allow cannabis, and yet they will allow beer and cigarettes".

Ventura has been an outspoken cannabis advocate, and now operates a Minnesota-based edibles company called Retro Bakery (that I bet he'd love to see at the State Fair as a vendor).

While some might agree with Jesse's argument, Minnesota is not the only state with this type of policy in place for its state fair.

What state fairs allow marijuana?

Some state fairs, like Washington, have a blanket policy for smoking and vaping in all forms, lumping nicotine and cannabis products together and enforcing designated smoking areas. That covers the consumption portion of things Ventura was discussing.

On the side of "treading cannabis the same way the do alcohol, things are quite different. Of the 24 states where recreational marijuana is legal, only one has permitted the usage and sale of cannabis products in a way similar to alcohol at a state fair.

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Late last year, the California State Fair updated its cannabis policy to make its 2024 state fair the first in the country to allow people to purchase and consume products on fairgrounds.

The rules allow for the sale and usage of cannabis products in designated areas, somewhat mimicking rules about alcohol and nicotine product use and sales at fairs around the country.

With Minnesota's cannabis law only a year old and the retail industry in the state in its infancy, it is certainly possible Ventura will eventually get his wish. Just not for 2024.