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The Seattle Times, 2006-03-14 (Tues) Rick Steves is just a NORML guy by Nicole Brodeur
You imagine Rick Steves going to bed early, bags packed, itinerary ready,
sensible shoes lined up by the door.
You don't imagine him ensconced in some European parlor, taking pulls off a
big, fat doobie. But it turns out Steves, our home-grown travel magnate,
likes to smoke pot.
He's a card-carrying member of NORML, the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws. He's even given the keynote speech at its annual
conference.
But like everything about Steves, his is a sensible stand: America needs to
treat marijuana as a "soft drug," and as a medical, not criminal issue.
Doing so would ease the burden on our courts and prisons, Steves said. It
would ease the hypocrisy of parents who lecture their kids about drugs, then
light up later. And, Steves says, it could help relations with those across the pond.
"When I say I don't think we should lock up people for smoking pot, people
think I am pro-drug use," Steves told me the other day. "I just say stop
criminalizing people who do."
It's an intriguing proposal that Steves, 50, will present as part of
"Marijuana, the Unnecessary War," a seminar to be held at 7 tonight at the
University of Washington's Kane Hall. Steves will be joined by Roger
Goodman, director of the King County Bar Association's Drug Policy Project;
and Dr. Gregory Carter of the UW Medical School. George Rohrbacher, a former
Washington state senator and NORML board member, will moderate.
"Nobody should think that Europe is down on hard drugs," Steves said. "They
just don't clog their legal system with a lot of innocent pot smokers.
"Our program is so laughable, wasteful and counterproductive."
While Washington state has laws for jailing and fining those caught with
pot, Seattle seems sympathetic to Steves' perspective. City voters in 2003
approved an initiative making marijuana possession the lowest
law-enforcement priority.
But like us, Steves has the sense to draw a line.
He has concerns about abuse and children getting access to drugs. And he is
against easier sentences for hard drugs.
But pot, he says, shouldn't be linked to the same ills caused by meth or
other illegal substances.
"There are not legions of people waiting to ruin their lives once pot
becomes legal," he said. "Seattle is not going to become one big Hempfest."
Rather, he sees responsible adults smoking recreationally, and not hiding
that from their children.
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."
Nicole Brodeur's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at
206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.
His favorite gelato: ganja
Pubdate: Tue., March 14, 2006 © 2006 The Seattle Times |
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