Last updated on: 7/17/2008 | Author: ProCon.org

Jesse Ventura Biography

Title:
Former Governor of Minnesota
Position:
Pro to the question "Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?"
Reasoning:

“Medical Marijuana? I fully support it, absolutely. Who is government to tell someone if they have AIDS or cancer, what they should be taking? To me, you’ve got a kid here with cancer, I don’t give a damn if he smokes a joint.”

Response to a question from a student at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, Apr. 4, 2001
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Advisory Board Member, Operation Truth (a nonprofit organization set up to give voice to troops who served in Iraq)
  • Board of Advisors, Make a Wish of Minnesota
  • Volunteer Football Coach, Park High School, Champlin, MN
  • Member, Screen Actors Guild
  • Member, American Federation of Television and Radio Announcers
  • Visiting Fellow, Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics, 2004
  • TV Host, Jesse Ventura’s America, MSNBC, 2003
  • Governor of Minnesota, 1999-2003
  • Radio Host, 1995-1998
  • Mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN, 1991-1995
  • Actor (appeared in the films Predator, Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, The Running Man, Demolition Man, Repossessed, Batman & Robin, and The Ringer), 1987-2005
  • Wrestling Commentator, 1985-1995
  • Professional Wrestler (stopped wrestling due to blood clots in his lungs, which he claims were as a result of exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam), 1973-1984
  • Recipient, Vietnam Service Ribbon
  • Recipient, National Defense Ribbon
Education:
  • North Hennepin Community College, 1973
Other:
  • Fomerly known as James George Janos
  • Claims he now spends much of his time surfing near his home in Baja California, Mexico