
Rick Steves’ Road Trip to Help Legalize Marijuana in the USA - ryan_j_naughton
https://blog.ricksteves.com/blog/legalize-marijuana-road-trip/
======
TaylorAlexander
Californian here. In college my friends turned me on to drinking. I became
what I would describe as a drunk in my 20’s. It was horrible for my body. I’d
had some bad experiences with weed but for some reason I decided to try again
in my late 20’s. Somehow then I was able to handle the strange disorienting
feeling it had previously caused for me.

I’ve found that when I want to unwind with the help of a drug, I vastly prefer
weed over alcohol. I currently smoke a little every day. I really do see
smoking weed like drinking wine. If you do it a lot and it’s interfering with
your life, it sounds like a problem. If you do it a little then yes it’s still
unhealthy but it’s not a problem.

I work in tech as an engineer and I consider myself very successful. I know
doing drugs isn’t as healthy as staying clean and I don’t plan to smoke every
day forever, but for now I like what it gives me. When I smoke, it’s a small
hit of sativa from a pipe. Then I get up, put on some music, and clean the
house, cook food, or do some mechanical design. I smoke less if I’m going to
write software - that’s just how my brain likes it.

But often if I’m going through something hard in life, I’m not good at
processing it on my own. I know I could learn that through meditation, but
certainly taking a larger hit of the same stuff and sitting down for a while
usually allows me to process those emotions. I’ll go in to my emotions, cry,
and then work through them. That’s just an evening or weekend thing.

I’ll reiterate that I don’t see this as objectively healthy, but it’s
certainly not in a worse class of drug than alcohol. I am frustrated when I go
to parties and people allow young children to see everyone drinking but say
the weed should be hidden. We have a culture that accepts heavy drinking but
we still see weed as some problem. In California it’s not so severe, but I
hope to see it legalized everywhere in the world. It’s absurd to send anyone
to jail for consuming, producing, or selling this easy to grow drug.

~~~
vanadium
I agree with 99% of what you said, but in the case of weed, while I don't
think it should be hidden per se, it has a known "secondhand" effect on those
in close proximity.

So perhaps it stands to reason it's just the usage that should be kept at a
distance rather than the admission of use. Too bad so many are still terrified
to admit their use where it's still illegal. May that change more rapidly in
the future.

~~~
Karrot_Kream
> I agree with 99% of what you said, but in the case of weed, while I don't
> think it should be hidden per se, it has a known "secondhand" effect on
> those in close proximity.

Really? That's not what I was colloquially aware of nor what [1] says.

[1]:
[https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/extreme_...](https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/extreme_exposure_to_secondhand_cannabis_smoke_causes_mild_intoxication)

------
poulsbohemian
Rick is such a neat guy - puts his money where his mouth is, not only on this
issue, but on a number of social causes. In the long run, his excellent travel
tips might turn out to be a footnote in terms of his contribution to the
world.

~~~
joezydeco
Rick recently donated a $4 million apartment complex for homeless women and
children. His article about the donation is a great read:

[https://www.ricksteves.com/about-rick/trinity-
place](https://www.ricksteves.com/about-rick/trinity-place)

 _" With the election of our president in 2016 and the rise of a new, greed-
is-good ethic in our government, I want to be more constructive than just
complaining about how our society is once again embracing "trickle-down"
ethics, and our remarkable ability to ignore the need in our communities even
as so much wealth is accumulated within the top one percent of our populace.
I'm heartbroken at how good people, dedicating their lives to helping others
(through social organizations and non-profits across our society), are bracing
for a new forced austerity under our government of billionaires."_

------
stephendedalus
I'm currently withdrawing from a psychiatric medication. In my cohort people
take their lives frequently, the pain is so bad. Many of us are finding relief
in CBD oil and medical marijuana. To say that the nomination of Sessions to AG
(and his subsequent withdrawing of the Cole memo) has made our lives worse, is
an understatement. We just want to live normal lives. As much as possible. CBD
has allowed me to stay productive, to work, to rescue my career. Take it away
and I don't know if I'm here. I wish Rick the best and hope he can make change
and, honestly, save some lives.

------
westoque
Being in the YC community for years, it's delightful to see someone like Rick
Steves be in the top page.

His shows on PBS became the the main reason why I decided to work remotely
whilst traveling all around the world.

He shares knowledge like no one else, I highly recommend you watch his shows
and also his talks on YouTube.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Link to youtube:
[https://www.youtube.com/user/RickSteves/videos](https://www.youtube.com/user/RickSteves/videos)

------
bojackstorkman
I am glad that this is becoming more prevalent. While I personally have never
really gotten into any trouble, I know a lot of people that have been
incarcerated for weed. In other cases, the presence of weed allowed for
entry/search by police which for any number of reasons resulted in being
charged for one crime or another.

More importantly (to me personally, since this affects people close to me), a
big chunk of them experienced insipid forms of violence while locked up, and
in some cases this derailed people for years, or even permanently.

I sincerely hope that the sheer human cost of current policies can be reduced
or eliminated altogether.

~~~
minikites
>the presence of weed allowed for entry/search by police

This is the biggest reason so many "law and order" types fight legalization.
It's a "Get Out of the Fourth Amendment Free" card:

[https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/03/08/joe-
kennedy-...](https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/03/08/joe-kennedy-iii-
marijuana)

>Recalling his days working as a state prosecutor when Massachusetts voted in
2008 to decriminalize marijuana, Kennedy said the decision affected the
ability of police officers to search and seize other illegal items, such as
guns, from vehicles.

>“If you smelled [marijuana] in a car, you could search a car,” Kennedy said.
“When it became decriminalized, you couldn’t do that.”

------
jasonrhaas
I really hope Sessions takes him up on the offer. The main difference is that
in places like Switzerland and the Netherlands they view drug addition as a
_health issue_ rather than a crime you should be locked up for. I think the
attitude towards drugs in the US is slowly moving away from Richard Nixon's
"war on drugs", and more towards actually helping people with drug problems.

Having said that, Europe is way ahead of the US in a lot of (social) aspects,
drugs being one of them.

~~~
minikites
Nixon and his associates did a lot of damage in this area:

"You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be
either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the
hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both
heavily, we could disrupt those communities," [former Nixon domestic policy
chief John Ehrlichman] said. "We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes,
break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening
news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."

I'm glad Rick Steves made an effort to call out that particular aspect: "And
we’re no longer arresting about 8,000 (mostly poor and black) people each
year."

~~~
TallGuyShort
Classic example of a law just to make criminals out of otherwise law-abiding
citizens. Marijuana law is such a textbook example of everything bad about
government. We needed a constitutional amendment to allow the government
regulate alcohol, but now you don't even Congress to regulate drugs, you just
need the executive. And it can be illegal at the federal level, legal at the
state level, illegal at the local level, but not "enforced", so the TSA can
get you charged with a felony because you're transporting your small amount of
no-THC pain balm across state lines. What a mess we've built ourselves.

------
igravious
Never heard of the guy but after reading that, wow. People like Rick Steves
are one in a million. I bet a significant minority of the population if not a
majority of the population of many countries view the laws around marijuana
out-dated. How many of those people hit the streets to try to be the change
they want to be in the world? Not many. My deepest appreciation to Rick Steves
and others like him who go out of their way to make the world a less crappy
place for all of us.

------
jstewartmobile
Wish more people saw his Iran special. Might make them think a little harder
before sanctioning and/or drone-striking the shit out of that part of the
world.

The man is an all-around hero.

------
vanadium
Rick Steves has been an outspoken proponent of legalization for a long, long
time now, and it's a testament to his resolve that he's still doing it today
with every bit as much fervor as he had when the headwinds were strong.

Keep it up, Rick!

------
millzlane
I was in Annapolis, MD yesterday assisting with the presentation of the
Constitution Amendment Bills in Maryland. It's a Small world. I even saw Rick
in the halls. Don't think I got a chance to meet him though. I wish I did.

