Rick Steves, Drug Policy Provocateur

I reckon a comparison of the toughness of the DEA and their colleagues across the Atlantic is a bit unfair, cause the Europeans don’t have to deal with a problem of similar magnitude.

Dear Steve,
Thanks for bringing some real sanity to the drug issue in America. My parent are retired police officers and they agree that the drug issue is a lost cause and should be dealt with in a manner similar to Europe’s approach.
Right on Steve for speaking out with the Truth. It shall make you free. And right on NW people.

Finally someone speaks out on this?  Is this really still such heresy?  Thank you Rick, for stating the obvious.  I only hope people are brave enough to actually listen to the obvious.

BTW, Ling; why do you think that the European problem is much smaller.  What with them being soft on the drugs and all.  It just doesn’t make sense, does it?

I’m no expert, but from what I know, a major part of the South American and Afghanistan drug produce is shipped straight to the US. The Europeans may be soft on drugs, but that doesn’t mean they have more ‘criminal’ elements. The drug wars are not just about the drugs or drug lords or laws specific to drugs. Its also about the state of the society, the number of bad apples, and the people who use drugs. It’s in this area that the US falls behind, and no amount of DEA action is enough to stem the flow, if tehre’s demand for it.

Ever seen his photo on one of Steves’ first books, about traveling Asia?  His hair is at least shoulder length and wearing shorts w/Birkenstocks.  Just the way other countries like to see US!?

So not surprised at this, yet thought he’d have outgrown it by now with his age and TV show etc.

JAMA (Journal of American Medicine Association) and many other countries’ medical studies show cannabis users have impairments in memory and attention that endure beyond the period of intoxication and worsen with increasing years of regular cannabis use. 

Also, the Japanese publication Molecular Psychiatry printed: “This result provides genetic evidence that marijuana use can result in schizophrenia or a significantly increased risk of schizophrenia,” said a clinical psychiatrist at Okayama University.  “Prior studies there also show that cannabis used before age 18 raises the risk of schizophrenia six-fold.”

(BTW, schizophrenia is one of the greatest mental health challenges in the world, affecting roughly one of every 100 people and filling about a quarter of all hospital beds in the United States)

But it’s harmless ... right?

Rick Steves, Thanks for giving hope to families who have been torn apart by the harsh penalties that marijuana and hashish have been given to users. I must say that you have all forgotten last years publication of a book by none other than Walter Cronkite,“the most trusted man in America” who has put his reputation on the line to say he feels the war against drugs is lost and there are other ways to deal with the problems that actually do come from drug abuse just like alcohol abuse. For working class Americans a joint after a hard days work is safer at home in front of the TV than drinking beer. It is the sedative /prozac of the masses. We are talking about people who do not buy much or ever sell and all they want is to unwind after work. These are, otherwise,
law abiding people who have ethics and pay their taxes and are in danger of extinction because they are the middle class. Hemp is a cash crop that the USA will not allow its people to grow although it will grow nearly anywhere and does not need pesticides and herbicides. It makes a soft and durable
material for clothing and other uses. it could help revive family farms. Face it, we have yet to have a government for the people, by the people. The people are left out and turned their backs on the hypocrisy of the nation. Europeans have problems: drugs are being smuggled and picked up by the Garda in Ireland Like crazy these days. The marijuana is a worry but the cocaine is scary because of the criminals who smuggle it. How many ways do you want to look at this. They are endless. So nothing changes. I
hope it will for the sake of those who are sent to prison.

CA Jones-
Marijuana is not good for you; that’s true.  Neither are potato chips, cigarettes, or working at a desk all day. 

Part of living in a free society is allowing people to make choices you don’t agree with—and ones that might even do them harm.  It does not follow that, because something is “bad” for someone, it should therefore be illegal.  That’s a leap in logic.

Dear CAJones,
  I never said anything about pot being good or bad. I have asthma now and am getting older, but I have enjoyed smoke from all over the world. In the 60s I carried hash in my jeans pocket and put
crumbs on my lit cigarette and inhaled it. I have never been a dealer. Friends have died from heroin and cocaine, others still have addictions. There are problems connected to any substance abuse. Did you read what I wrote are were you too stoned to understand? Pot is the tranquilizer of the masses. I obviously want it decriminalized, with Hashish. When people can have small amounts, legally, it hurts no one. Yet if you drink a few beers and smoke a dooby you are not fit to drive. Like I said, there are many ways to see this.MKW

I would say there is more encouragement to go to a drug addiction treatment center in Europe. Any celebrities known for becoming drug users are always frowned upon by the general population which helps facility the strong image that drugs are bad. Maybe America is too big to so easily have this general consensus of drugs via the media.

The problem is people are not responsible for themselves or their actions. Most alcohol and drug abusers end up being taken care of using our tax dollars. I have no issue with someone spending his own money to care for his medical problems he created, but I do mind a lot using my wallet for such stupidity. Don’t get me wrong, I am more than willing to use tax dollars to help out people who have no means and are injured or sick, but if they got there by drinking their liver to death, or smoking their brain cells out, or eatingthemselves into a heart condition on purpose, then I have a problem.