Ventura's Marijuana Manifesto/ UFO Skeptic to Believer

Hosted byGeorge Noory

Ventura's Marijuana Manifesto/ UFO Skeptic to Believer

About the show

Former independent governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura has a reputation as a rebel and a freethinker. In the first half, he discussed his philosophy that our country needs to see full legalization of medical/recreational marijuana and hemp and to end to the War on Drugs. He began by stating that he "would not have the life I have today" if it weren’t for the medical benefits of pot. Ventura said that "Marijuana and hemp were the foundation of this country for the first 160 years of its existence" since it was used to produce rope, paper and fabric. He also believes that it should be legal for recreational as well as medicinal use. Agreeing with George, he further stated his opinion that all drugs should be legalized and addicts treated like victims of a disease rather than as criminals.

Ventura gave a list of his reasons for legalization: Marijuana is a renewable resource; it can be used to make paper and clothing; it treats glaucoma and seizures; as well as "stopping cancer." As for the fallout of too many people stoned in public, he said that freedom "comes with a price, and part of that is the freedom to be stupid." Caller Derek asked if he could grow pot commercially if it becomes legal in his state. Ventura used Colorado as an example and noted that residents are allowed a certain number of plants for personal use and for sale, and that a retired couple could conceivably make up to $90,000 a year in this way. Ventura also said that the Libertarian party asked him to run for president, but he declined because "couldn’t go 100% to do the job afterword."

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In the second half, the bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires (the basis for the Academy Award–winning film about Facebook - The Social Network) Ben Mezrich discussed his journey from skeptic to believer after researching UFOs, secret bases and cattle mutilations. Mezrich met and befriended UFO researcher Chuck Zukowski, a former sheriff’s deputy who was fired when his involvement in paranormal topics was discovered. Mezrich found out that "nobody in the mainstream can talk about UFOs without risking their careers" which he says acts as its own coverup. Mezrich is fascinated by the mutilation phenomenon since there seems to be no one logical reason why they would be occurring. The three he bought up - cults, biological testing, and aliens - seem to all have plusses and minuses, but none explain everything that has been witnessed.

Mezrich was also interested in the story of millionaire Robert Bigelow and his efforts over several years to solve many mysteries (chiefly the UFO question) through his various scientific research organizations. He believes that Bigelow has a lot of information, but not enough to make any firm conclusions that could be announced. Mezrich says that he has seen many documents that relate to the Roswell crash and believes that something unknown did come down in 1947 and that the debris will be revealed publicly in "a few years." He also talked about his other books, such as Bringing Down the House - the story of a group of MIT students who made millions with a card counting system which eventually got them (and Mezrich, who joined them for a time) banned from Vegas casinos for life.

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