As I reported last week, a national marijuana conference filled the luxury Governor Hotel with the sweet stench of pot smoke, including a kick-off speech from Representative Earl Blumenauer and a talk by none other than public television travel host Rick Steves! Who knew Rick Steves was a major advocate of drug law reform?
I sat down with Rick Steves last Friday to talk pot. Here’s our quick Q&A on why changing marijuana laws is good for parents, good for Christians and good for society.
I bet people are surprised to find out you’re a marijuana advocate.
In some people’s minds, they have like whiplash. They say, “I didn’t know you were involved in that.” And I think that’s funny because my persona, everything about me, is consistent. I think enjoying marijuana is perfectly consistent with being a good parent, a good citizen, a Christian or a person of faith, a creative individual who wants to embrace life and challenge themselves with creative adventures. All that’s right in keeping with the someone who wants to enjoy a little marijuana.
I heard you were chosen the 2008 Lutheran of the Year. What does the church think about your marijuana advocacy?
The church knows I am not an advocate of smoking marijuana, I’m an advocate of allowing people to smoke marijuana who want to smoke marijuana. That’s a big difference. I’m not saying, “Smoke pot, smoke pot, everybody smoke pot.” I’m saying, “Stop arresting people who choose to smoke pot.” That’s a very Christian thing to be doing, I think, to respect people, not lock people up, and think about harm reduction. I don’t support a lot of lifestyles that come along with smoking too much marijuana, I think that’s actually really sad, but I also don’t think adults should be hiding like little children if they want to enjoy a little marijuana.
So how long have you been working on this issue for?
When I think back on it, I’ve been interested in the fear that this brings to our society and how many people are criminalized by this law ever since I was a student. Thirty years ago, I was on the radio in Seattle, but back then I had to do it anonymously, as a small business man who was in favor of changing these laws. It struck me back then, “This is ridiculous, why should I be afraid of talking about this?” Everyone I knew was smoking, but no one could talk about it. I felt like someone had to stand up and say, hey, it’s okay! We’re not saying smoke pot! We’re saying it should be a civil liberty if you want to smoke, as I like to say, responsible adult recreational use.
So it sounds like your opinions on pot were formed before you even traveled a lot.
No, actually, the first time I ever got high was in Afghanistan. It was great, it was just what people do in India, Nepal, Afghanistan. I went through my young adulthood thinking, like any nice conformist person would, this is the evil weed. But then through my travels, in a lot of cultures people smoke pot and the sky wouldn’t fall. If you want to and you don’t hurt anybody, you should be able to. If I don’t want to exercise, I don’t have to, it’s my civil liberty. If I want to eat cupcakes, I should be able to, it’s my civil liberty.
I remember I didn’t want to succumb to peer pressure, like teenagers were hearing, so I stood above that business. But then I realized, in South Asia, this wasn’t peer pressure, this was culture. You could buy it in the markets, it’s what people do when they want to relax.
Have you seen global cultures surrounding pot change over the past 30 years?
What I’ve been fascinated by is America’s bullying people into criminalizing pot. Other countries are afraid to legalize pot even though their populace wants to legalize it, because from an economic point of view they know it would be very expensive. A small, struggling country doesn’t want to have a trade war with the United States.
What country should we be taking our cues from to craft a sane drug policy?
I think we should take our cues from drug policy in general from Europe. Which is, when you take crime out of the equation, you take violence out of the equation and you can treat drugs as a health problem. It should be evaluated not in how many people you lock up, but in harm reduction to society. For me, I like to put marijuana in with soft drugs, like tobacco and alcohol. Hard drugs should be their own category.
So do you smoke pot when you go abroad?
Um… It’s really not an issue of do I smoke pot when I go abroad. I think it’s funny that some people would condemn me for breaking an American law overseas, that’s kind of illogical. It’s the height of ethnocentricity.
YOU MADE THIS UP! MY HEAD IS EXPLODDDIIINNGGG! RICK STEVES!!!!
“So do you smoke pot when you go abroad?” YES!!!!!!!!
Lutherans for drugs!
Rick Steves throws kick-ass parties at his home. Super fun and ALWAYS herb-friendly.
Oh Jeez, this guy’s been a big legalization advocate for *years*. I think he was even on the board of NORML for a while. I thought everybody knew that…
The Portland cannabis community is buzzing with talk of a bright “Out of the darkness and into the light” future for medical cannabis patients. Everyone seems primed for the legalization of cannabis, which will quite likely occur in California within the year. Oregon has a dispensary referendum on the ballot for November, 2010 as well.
While the NORML National convention was the reason for many cannabis activists traveling to PDX last weekend, the multi – consecutive evening long “after party” at the Governor Hotel organized by The Grower and Gawdess 420 was undoubtedly the social event of the season within Portland’s cannabis community. The after party completely overshadowed the High Times magazine party held in the same hotel, reportedly causing some of the High Times magazine staffers to abandon their own party. My congratulations to The Grower, The Grower’s Wife, and Gawdess 420 for organizing and supporting the best pot party in a long time, and doing it with their own funds! (NORML did not contribute to the party or the cost of the hotel suite) The entire cannabis community looks forward to these events. Thanks, folks!
I’d also like to congratulate Mrs. Martinez of Oregon NORML for her work in putting together the actual conference. At first I was very interested to attend the lectures and panel discussion regarding medical cannabis theraputics and legal issues, however I was unable to pay the 150 dollar fee required by NORML to attend those sessions. I would suggest that lowering the fees for such lectures might aid in helping local patients attend such sessions in the future. ( In fairness I have been told that a CD recording of the lecture/panel discussion will be available for purchase, but that’s just not the same as being there. ) I was pleased to read recently that Oregon NORML has instituted a ten dollar one day fee option open to all Oregon cannabis patients for entry to it’s cannabis cafe. Such a more reasonable fee option will allow medical cannabis patients, caregivers and growers to visit the cafe without paying the more substantial NORML membership fees, monthly club fees and daily entrance fees. This “Try it out” fee option was long overdue at Oregon NORML’s Cannabis Cafe.
In these difficult times, many medical cannabis patients are hard hit economically in addition to having physical disabilities. Sadly, we must be ever vigilant and protective of each other. I was recently devastated to learn of the abuse by a caregiver and her husband of a severely ill medical cannabis patient. The skanky criminal duo claimed falsely that they would make repairs to the patients home and pretended to begin repairs, then failed to complete the repairs and stole a thousand dollars worth of the patients prescribed medication with absolutely no regard for the health of the patient. They also wrecked the patient’s car while driving drunk. That this sort of abuse could happen to our fellow patients is unacceptable and must never be tolerated. I cried when I was told about this abuse, several months after the fact. Hearing about it I felt so sick that I wanted to throw up. Sick, and furious.
IF there is anyone reading this who is in a similar abusive situation involving patient or elder abuse, know that you’re not alone and that there are people who can help you to get out of it. Contact your family and friends, your social service agencies, and local law enforcement. “No secrets with a criminal.” The worst thing you can do in an abuse case is to keep the abusive secrets of a predatory, low life criminal. They will always regard that acquiescence as weakness, and wolves attack the sickly and the weak. “Stay hardcore.”
These are bloody dangerous times. Cheers.
Thanks for your advocacy for freedom, Mr. Steves. Please support Oregon Measure 74. The Oregon Citizens’ Initiative found that, “Measure 74 creates a safe, compassionate and prompt access program for Oregon medical marijuana patients, introduces regulation, and is financially sound.”
YES on 74!
http://www.measure74.org/
Great Comments