Rick Steves: Stoner?
The other day, we received a press release about NORML’s (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) an
nual conference, which will be held in L.A. next weekend. The keynote speaker is—get this—Rick Steves, host of the awesome public-TV show Rick Steves’ Europe. Really—it’s the best travel show on TV. Steves a member of NORML’s advisory board; his talk, called “Hard on Drugs or Smart on Drugs,” looks at European drug policy compared to U.S.
Rick Steves is a total stoner. Who knew? OK, that’s a complete exaggeration, but I had to say it. According to Steves’ website, he supports the decriminalization of marijuana but does not “advocate smoking marijuana at all.” He simply believes—like a lot of people do—that the U.S. government has better things to spend its money on than going after “simple possession” cases (possession without the intent to distribute or sell), which comprise roughly 80 percent of marijuana arrests. The pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project released a study last week that put the cost of marijuana-related law enforcement combined with lost tax revenue that could be gained from legalizing and then taxing marijuana sales at roughly $42 billion.
And Steves could care less whether or not his devoted followers abandon him because of his political views (because, if you see an older person in Europe clutching a guide book, it’s going to be Rick Steves). Here’s what he told Nicole Brodeur of the Seattle Times:
Steves isn’t worried what people think of his stoner stance. He doesn’t need to get elected, he said, and doesn’t care if people boycott his travel books and shows.
The truth is, he hardly smokes anyway.
“If I wasn’t working so hard, I would smoke,” he said. “I’m kind of a workaholic. I smoke overseas with European friends.”
Alcohol leads to other things, Steves said. Sex leads to other things.
“Pot causes us to enjoy the Beatles.”
It’s not just our elders clutching Steves’ guide books in Europe; his are the very best around. And now we know why he’s such a laid back traveler…I heart Rick Steves!