Mr. Steves is the host of the popular public television series, “Rick Steves’ Europe,” and author of over 30 European travel books. For more than 30 years, he has helped American travelers connect more intimately with Europeans — often for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.
Since joining NORML’s Advisory Board, Rick has been an outspoken advocate for marijuana law reform. He hosted the recent television program Marijuana: It’s Time for a Conversation, and has spent countless hours lobbying politicians in his home state of Washington (and elsewhere) about the need to stop arresting responsible adults who consume marijuana.
“Like most of Europe, I believe marijuana is a soft drug (like alcohol and tobacco), not a hard drug,” he says.
“Like alcohol and tobacco, it should be treated as a health rather than a criminal issue. Crime should only enter the equation if it is abused to the point where innocent people are harmed.”
He adds: “As a parent helping two children navigate their teen years, and as a travel writer who has seen firsthand how Europe deals with its drug problem, I’ve thought a lot about U.S. drug policy — particularly our criminalization of marijuana. … The time has come to have an honest discussion about our marijuana laws and their effectiveness. We need to find a policy that is neither ‘hard on drugs’ nor ‘soft on drugs’ — but smart on drugs.”
Rick says, “Yes we cannabis” and so should you! Meet Rick and hundreds of other like-minded people at NORML’s 38th annual conference, taking place September 24-26 at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Francisco. For registration information, please visit: http://www.norml.org/conference.
More about Rick Steves:
New York Times: Fresh Ideas for a Tired Crusade
Seattle Post Intelligencer: We need to get smart about marijuana
Listen to Rick Steves deliver the keynote speech at NORML’s 2005 national conference
Listen to Rick Steves interviews on the NORML Daily Audio Stash here and here and read more Rick Steves posts on the Stash Blog.
Profiles in Cannabis: Rick Steves
