Within the coronary heart of Paris, with the air nonetheless recent with rain and the solar breaking by way of the clouds, I sit outdoors with my pot of espresso and my notepad at Les Deux Magots, the legendary literary café on the Left Financial institution. This establishment was a historic hang-out for artists, intellectuals and writers together with Simone de Beauvoir, Rimbaud, Hemingway and Sartre. I’ve landed in Paris after spending the week in Barcelona for the Worldwide Hashish Enterprise Convention and Spannabis, certainly one of Europe’s most iconic hashish gatherings. Hashish is just not but authorized in France, so being a respectful and law-abiding vacationer, I woefully parted with my Spanish trove of hashy items and accouterments earlier than I arrived. The scrumptious pastries, wonderful people-watching and the lights of the Eiffel Tower at night time are a most truthful change.
Watching the world go by, I mirror on my Catalonian adventures of the previous week and the intersection of journey, tradition and private freedom. I can’t assist however consider my dialog with Rick Steves, the beloved PBS journey guru, on my podcast “Planted with Sara Payan.” His books and tv exhibits have impressed generations of vacationers to step outdoors their consolation zones and expertise the world.
Rick Steves isn’t solely a journey skilled, he’s additionally a passionate advocate for hashish legalization, a trigger that ties into his bigger philosophy of freedom and hurt discount. As a member of the nationwide NORML Board of Administrators and, for a few years, as its Chair, he has used his platform to combat for normalization and smart hashish coverage. In a time when the world feels more and more polarized, Steves’ work encourages us to rethink how we method every thing from drug coverage to democracy and journey to non-public liberty.
One of many issues that struck me most about Steves’ advocacy for hashish reform is his pragmatic method to hurt discount. As we talked, he highlighted the significance of stepping away from outdated, moralistic views about medicine and specializing in sensible, evidence-based options that prioritize public well being and security. Steves described his perception in a society that embraces “pragmatic hurt discount” as the important thing to addressing not simply hashish use, however all substance-related points. “It’s not about legislating morality,” Steves mentioned. “It’s about creating legal guidelines that acknowledge civil liberties whereas minimizing hurt. Legalization is a transparent method ahead. We’ve seen it work in nations around the globe, and now it’s time for America to catch up.”
For Steves, the criminalization of hashish customers is a social justice concern. The warfare on medicine has disproportionately affected marginalized communities and has contributed to mass incarceration. “The black marketplace for marijuana is a direct results of prohibition,” he mentioned. “As an alternative of making a living for organized crime, the authorized market can generate tax income that helps fund faculties and public security.”
What makes Steves’ stance on hashish reform so compelling is the way in which he frames it as a matter of private freedom. In our dialog, he emphasised how hashish legalization is tied to the broader wrestle for civil liberties. He began by saying, ”I need to preface our dialog, Sara, by reminding folks I’m not pro-marijuana; I’m pro-civil liberties. I believe marijuana is a drug, and it needs to be managed identical to alcohol. However I additionally assume it’s a civil liberty for adults to make use of marijuana recreationally. I at all times wish to say I’m a hardworking, tax-paying, church-going, kid-raising, now grandkid-raising American citizen. And if I work laborious all day, I need to go residence and smoke a joint and simply stare on the hearth for 3 hours, that’s my civil liberty, you already know? Can I get in my automotive and drive whereas I’m below the affect of a drug? No. Throw the guide at me. That’s harmful; that’s not proper. However as a matter of precept, having fun with marijuana is a civil liberty, and that’s why I’m energetic.”
“Legalization is a transparent method ahead. We’ve seen it work in nations around the globe, and
now it’s time for America to catch up.”Rick Steves
As a long-time advocate for drug coverage reform, Steves is keenly conscious of how hashish prohibition is utilized to regulate and oppress sure teams. “It’s racist,” he mentioned plainly. “The way in which marijuana legal guidelines have been enforced on this nation has been used as a instrument for social management—that has to vary.” “Good folks smoke pot,” he mentioned. “Good folks can responsibly smoke marijuana, and there’s no disgrace in that. It’s time we cease criminalizing accountable adults for his or her decisions.”
Reflecting on his phrases whereas I sip espresso and gaze past my petite café desk, it’s clear how journey influenced Steves’ private freedom perspective. As a world citizen, Rick Steves has spent a lot of his life exploring and studying from completely different cultures. These experiences have given him a novel lens to critique American drug coverage and advocate for change. He says he believes touring helps us higher perceive the human situation and the significance of freedom.
“I wish to say for me, excessive is a spot, and generally I need to go there, and it’s a form of journey,” Steves mentioned. “That led to my advocacy as a result of if my authorities says I can’t go someplace, whether or not it’s Cuba or Iran or Palestine, or getting excessive on marijuana, there higher be a great purpose. And conceivably, there is usually a good purpose, but when there’s not a great purpose, I really feel prefer it’s my responsibility as an American to face up and lift my voice and say, that’s not proper. It’s my civil liberty to go there. I’m an grownup, and so long as I need to go there and it doesn’t mess anyone else up, get out of my method. I took very personally the prohibition towards marijuana due to my love of journey and the enjoyment it gave me from a inventive viewpoint in addition to the social viewpoint.”
Hashish legalization isn’t simply an American concern. As Steves identified, extra nations around the globe are adopting progressive drug insurance policies, and these adjustments are profoundly impactful on their societies. In Canada, for instance, hashish is federally authorized, regulated and taxed, producing vital income whereas additionally lowering the harms related to the illicit market. In Germany, there was a longtime medical program and, extra just lately, restricted federal legalization, permitting people to make use of the substance with out concern of arrest.
As somebody who has spent a long time touring the world, Steves has witnessed firsthand the various methods through which completely different nations method hashish. Within the Netherlands and Portugal, marijuana has been decriminalized, and the outcomes communicate for themselves: fewer arrests and simpler public well being methods. These experiences have formed Steves’ perception that the US must shift its focus towards regulation, not criminalization. His optimism for the way forward for hashish reform is unmistakable, inspiring hope for a extra progressive method all through the nation.
“Hashish is a cultural concern, however it’s additionally an financial one,” Steves mentioned. “International locations which have embraced legalization have seen financial development, job creation and a discount in crime. It’s about extra than simply marijuana; it’s about creating insurance policies which are rooted in the actual world, not in outdated myths and ethical panic.”
The advantages of legalization are clear, however Steves can be cautious and lifelike. He says he understands that it’s not sufficient to legalize hashish; we should additionally implement sound laws to guard public well being. That’s why he advocates for a framework that treats marijuana not in contrast to alcohol: regulated, taxed and managed. “It’s vital that we don’t simply legalize hashish; we have to create a system that ensures it’s secure, truthful and accessible,” he mentioned.
Steves differentiates himself as an advocate for hashish reform by way of his capability to attach the dots between journey, private freedom and coverage change. In his travels, Steves has gained a deep understanding of the influence of cultural change and the significance of respecting folks’s decisions. This angle makes him a vital voice within the hashish motion, because it permits him to see how completely different societies method drug coverage and to advocate for a extra open-minded, respectful method to hashish use.
In some ways, Steves’ method to journey mirrors his method to drug coverage reform: open-minded, considerate and pushed by a want to be taught from others. Simply as he encourages vacationers to embrace new cultures and views, he urges hashish activists to broaden their understanding of the problem and work towards insurance policies that profit society at giant. This emphasis on studying from different cultures and factors of view nurtures a way of open-mindedness and understanding, key parts within the combat for hashish reform.
As we transfer deeper into 2025, the way forward for hashish reform within the US stays unsure. Steves says he has lengthy remained hopeful in regards to the path ahead for hashish legalization. In our dialog earlier than the presidential election, he acknowledged the numerous political challenges: “We’ve come to this point, however we will’t relaxation on our laurels,” he mentioned. “The combat for hashish legalization is ongoing, and we have to keep vigilant.” I mirror on this very often as I see increasingly more media protection that smacks of “reefer insanity” reasonably than educated commentary. Is that this an indicator of a rebound on prohibition or simply clickbait to have interaction the uninformed plenty?
Regardless of these challenges, Steves continues to view the political panorama as an important second for hashish advocates to make their voices heard. With the present administration’s stance on hashish coverage nonetheless unclear, advocates for reform should stay dedicated to pushing for change. Steves emphasizes that this isn’t nearly hashish however broader rules of democracy and private liberty.
“We will’t afford to turn out to be complacent,” he warned. “This combat isn’t over, and we have to proceed advocating for insurance policies that mirror the values of private freedom and hurt discount. Should you care about hashish reform and private freedom, you should get on the market and vote. That is about extra than simply hashish; it’s in regards to the form of nation we need to reside in. It’s about democracy, freedom and the correct to make our personal decisions.”
Though the highway forward could also be harder, Rick Steves says he stays devoted to the trigger, believing that hashish reform remains to be achievable. As I sit right here in Paris, surrounded by historical past and tradition, I can’t assist however take into consideration Steves’ phrases. The world is altering, and hashish reform is one indicator of that transformation. Simply as journey broadens our horizons, hashish legalization opens up new potentialities for social justice, private freedom and public well being. We should method the problem with the identical open-mindedness, curiosity and compassion Steves encourages in his travels. With dedicated advocates and leaders equivalent to Rick Steves persevering with the cost, the way forward for hashish reform nonetheless holds promise, at the same time as political dynamics shift.
