Mr. Steves decided to contact his state's politicians after recently participating in two public lectures sponsored by NORML in Seattle and on Bainbridge Island. After the public lectures received heavy media coverage in the Seattle-area, Steves received dozens of positive replies and notes of encouragement. Steves decided to share his experience with legislators in Washington State:

"I've been on the advisory board of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) for several years so I see our marijuana laws as overly harsh and prohibition taking a negative and needless toll on our society as alcohol did back in the early 1930s. In the interest of wise drug policy and harm reduction, I am a proponent of taking the European approach and treating marijuana as a health rather than a criminal problem.

I've always found the both politicians and the media secretly agree with my stance. While politicians may agree with me, they understandably fear political fallout if they are considered "soft on drugs". The point of my communication with you is that I have never had such over-whelming and positive feedback from a controversy that I've stepped into. Everywhere I've gone in the last week, people have thanked me for bravely addressing what is generally considered a painful prohibition in our society. After reviewing this, let me know if I can be of any help in supporting you to speak out to get America to take the crime out of Marijuana."

More information about Rick Steves and other NORML Advisory Board Members advocacy for marijuana law reform is available at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5471
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