Reason.tv: PBS Travel Guru Rick Steves — “If I Work Hard All Day Long And Want To Go Home And Relax With A Joint, That Is My Civil Liberty”

Television host, author, and NORML Advisory Board member Rick Steves is arguably one of the most articulate and passionate voices for cannabis legalization. Catch the latest edition of Reason TV to hear why.

“[T]o me, high is a place … and when I want to go there I don’t need the government to give me a passport.”

You can also listen to Rick Steve’s keynote address from the 2009 national NORML conference here.

Marijuana Legalization Initiative Launched In Washington State

A mainstream coalition in Washington State has emerged in an attempt to pass a binding voter initiative to legalize the responsible adult use of cannabis, raise needed taxes and create alternative legal controls to the clearly failed policies of 74 years of Cannabis Prohibition.

It would set limits on how much cannabis people can have: an ounce of dried bud, 16 ounces of marijuana-infused foods in solid form, and 72 ounces of marijuana-infused liquids, or all three, Holcomb said. Limits are necessary to help ensure that people don’t buy large amounts for resale in other states, she said.

The Seattle Times breaks the news below and highlights some of the proposed initiative’s early and key supporters–including the former US Attorney, the current Seattle prosecutor and NORML Advisory board member Rick Steves.

NORML Advisory Board Member and Best-Selling Travel Author Rick Steves Addresses Hempfest's 100,000 @ 4:20

The 20th annual Seattle Hempfest will have two important reform projects for the hundreds of thousands to truly rally around this year: a state legalization initiative (the ACLU’s or Sensible Washington’s) and the first ever federal legalization bill expected to be introduced at any moment here in the decidedly less hip and green Washington, D.C.

Will 2012 be the year of mass marijuana legalization initiatives in America? It appears that way now with Washington, California and Colorado on track for such; Oregon, Massachusetts and Ohio may follow suit.

A coalition that includes former U.S. Attorney John McKay, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and travel guide Rick Steves is launching an initiative that would legalize marijuana in Washington state.

The group, led by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, decided to push the initiative this spring after Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed most of a medical-marijuana bill that had passed the state Legislature.

“We did some more public-opinion research, looked at the numbers and said, ‘Yeah, this is the time,’ ” said Alison Holcomb, campaign manager for the initiative and drug-policy director of the ACLU of Washington.

The initiative would regulate the recreational use of marijuana in a way similar to how the state regulates alcohol..

It would legalize marijuana for people older than 21, authorize the state Liquor Control Board to regulate and tax marijuana for sale in “stand-alone stores” and extend drunken-driving laws to marijuana, with blood tests to determine how much of the substance’s active ingredient is present in a driver’s blood.

Taxing sales would bring the state $215 million a year, conservatively estimated, Holmes said.

McKay, who spent five years enforcing federal drug laws as the U.S. attorney in Seattle before he was fired by the Bush administration in early 2007, said he hopes the initiative will help “shame Congress” into ending pot prohibition.

He said laws criminalizing marijuana are wrongheaded because they create an enormous black market exploited by international cartels and crime rings.

“That’s what drives my concern: The black market fuels the cartels, and that’s what allows them to buy the guns they use to kill people,” McKay said. “A lot of Americans smoke pot, and they’re willing to pay for it. I think prohibition is a dumb policy, and there are a lot of line federal prosecutors who share the view that the policy is suspect.”

Supporters would have until the end of this year to gather more than 240,000 signatures to get the initiative before the Legislature. Lawmakers could approve or allow it to go to the ballot next year.

Read the rest of the article here.

First Day of Summer: Got Your Hemp Pack?

Today marks the first day of summer and the last days of NORML’s 2011 spring membership drive, this week featuring a NORML & Rick Steves Travel Hemp Backpack for 50% off.

There are hardly better ambassadors for cannabis consumers than the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and best-selling travel author and popular TV host Rick Steves–who also happens to be on NORML’s Advisory Board.

These great hemp backpacks are made available by Rick in support of NORML’s longstanding law reform efforts and you can get these only from NORML and only this week for half off the donation amount usually needed to score one of these cool, conversation-starting hemp backpacks.

This special offer ends Sunday night, June 26…don’t procrastinate, please make a much appreciated and well utilized donation to a long standing non-profit organization that is in the nation’s capital (along with over 160 state chapters and affiliates) serving both cannabis consumers and the victims of Cannabis Prohibition laws–and putting the ‘grass’ in grassroots everyday!

NORML Conference: Key Speakers, Agenda and Earlybird Discounts Concluding

Key Speakers At 2010 NORML Conference in Portland, Oregon: Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Best-Selling Travel Author and TV Host Rick Steves

There are three important components in this 2010 NORML conference alert:

-Key Speakers

-Early-bird Pricing For Registration Is About To Expire

-Conference Agenda and Speakers Announced

-Key Speakers-

NORML is honored and proud to have the former two-term Governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson (R) address the 39^th annual national NORML conference on Friday, September 10 at the Governor Hotel in Portland, Oregon.

Gary Johnson became the first sitting governor in 2002 to speak at a NORML national conference in Washington. To date, few elected policymakers—and no governor in American history—have been more politically supportive of ending cannabis prohibition than Governor Johnson. As New Mexico’s term-limited governor from 1994-2002, Governor Johnson championed numerous drug policy reforms, including legalizing medical cannabis.

Governor Johnson, a man of both big political ideas and financial means, is an early and declared candidate to be the next U.S. president in 2012 (running a decidedly libertarian-leaning campaign as a Republican) who favors substantial changes to America’s longest and most expensive war—the war on some drugs.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D) is a long-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon, who is a co-signer of current federal legislation that would reschedule cannabis to allow its medical use by qualified patients.

Rick Steves, a best-selling travel author and NORML Advisory board member is a longtime supporter of cannabis law reform based on his travel experiences and personal observations, who, in 2008 hosted an ACLU television program called ‘Marijuana: It’s Time for a Conversation’.

-Early-bird Pricing for Registration Is About To Expire; Register Now, Save Money-

After a one month-long period promoting early-bird discount pricing to pre-register for the conference, prices are about to take a turn upwards. Register now to save, especially if you’ve already reserved a room at the sold-out Governor Hotel, overflow hotel Red Lion or live in the greater Portland area. Discount pre-registration pricing ends at midnight (Pacific) Sunday, August 29.

-Conference Agenda and Speakers Announced-

The 39^th annual NORML conference, ‘Just Say Now!’, continues the tradition of inclusiveness, expertise, passion, devotion, experience and celebration of all things cannabis-related—where over fifty speakers from across America will speak on matters ranging from legalization, medicalization, hemp, history, politics, science, law, business and culture.

Don’t delay if you want to be assured a seat at America’s oldest and largest pro-marijuana conference, as it will likely sell out soon (the host hotel and overflow hotels already have…).

Sponsorships and vending tables are still available. Deadline for sponsorships is Aug. 30 and vendors Sept. 7. Check out more conference details or pre-register at www.norml.org/conference

I hope to see you this September in Portland!

The Great Eight: Unlikely Notables Against Marijuana Prohibition

Every summer NORML’s office in Washington, D.C. is a buzz with 6-8 interns. As their much-appreciated volunteer time concludes and they point their compasses back to their respective schools, they’ve been turning in some of their summer assignments. After reviewing some of NORML’s extensive archives, undergraduate Nick Sibilla penned a blog entry reflecting his surprise that a number of politically conservative and notable Americans in fact support an end to cannabis prohibition.

Interested in a NORML internship? Click here.

Nick Sibilla, NORML summer intern, 2010

With legalizing marijuana on the ballot in California, cannabis is finally becoming mainstream. But while some supporters are pretty obvious, others can be quite surprising.

8. Glenn Beck
Not only is Glenn Beck one of Fox News’ more (in)famous anchors, he is also a leading figure of the burgeoning Tea Party movement, a renowned linguist and vocal thespian as well. Yet in a recent show, Beck declared, “I think it’s about time we legalize marijuana.” He added, “We have to make a choice in this country. We either put people who are smoking marijuana, behind bars, or we legalize it…[banning cannabis] is not helping us, it’s not helping Mexico, and it is causing massive damage on our southern border.” In that episode, he also interviewed Andres Rozenthal, a former Deputy Foreign Minister of Mexico, and expert on the drug violence down south. Rozenthal determined that around 60% of the Mexican cartels’ profits come from trafficking cannabis to the United States. Legalizing marijuana would then greatly undermine one of their revenue streams.

7. Milton Friedman
As an ardent advocate of the free market and a Nobel Prize winner in economics, Milton Friedman was hardly a tie-dye-in-the-wool hippie. But due to his belief in limited government, he was one of the most prolific critics of America’s failed “war on drugs.” He also headed a petition of 500 other economists to promote the fiscal benefits of legalization, which, according to their calculations, would amount to almost $14 billion nationwide.

6. Rick Steves
He is one of America’s better-known travel writers, authoring over 50 guidebooks on visiting Europe. But he is also dedicated to reforming this country’s marijuana laws, and even serves on the Advisory Board of Directors for NORML. “Last year over 800,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges — a 100% increase since 1980. Well over 80% of these arrests were for simple possession.” This, in his view, tarnishes “the credibility of parents, teachers, police and our government.”

5. Art Linkletter
Art Linkletter was an icon of 1950’s culture and exemplified mainstream family values. He was most famous for hosting the original Kids Say the Darnedest Things, and later marketed the hula-hoop and Milton Bradley’s “Game of Life.” But he also backed reforming America’s unjust marijuana laws, because he was against a system that turns “ordinary, decent kids” into “criminals.” He even held a press conference with NORML in 1977 to voice his support for decriminalizing cannabis.

4. Montel Williams
Montel Williams hosted the originally named The Montel Williams Show for nearly two decades and even won an Emmy in 1996. He also served in the military for 22 years and retired as a decorated Lieutenant Commander of the US Navy. But in 1999, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a painful, neurological disorder. After traditional painkillers like Percocet, Oxycontin, and Vicodin failed to manage his pain, Williams settled on a more controversial (but effective) treatment: medical marijuana. He is now a proud medical marijuana advocate and wants to remove cannabis from its Schedule I listing (alongside PCP and heroin), so that doctors nationwide could prescribe it.

3. Ann Landers
Arguably America’s most famous advice columnist, Ann Landers was the nom de plume for Eppie Lederer, who penned the column for almost 50 years. Yet she also supported decriminalizing marijuana. In 1999, she addressed “A Sad Mother in VA,” whose son was charged with possessing cannabis: “I have long believed the laws regarding marijuana are too harsh. Those who keep pot for their own personal use should not be treated as criminals.”

2. Pat Buchanan
A conservative heavyweight, Pat Buchanan has advised the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He is also a seminal political commentator and a three-time presidential candidate, making him the Bizarro Ralph Nader. But troubled by the harrowing, drug-fueled violence in Mexico, he asked in a recent Human Events column, “How does one win a drug war when millions of Americans who use recreational drugs are financing the cartels…?” In his view, “There are two sure ways to end this war swiftly: Milton’s way and Mao’s way. Mao Zedong’s communists killed users and suppliers alike, as social parasites. Milton Friedman’s way is to decriminalize drugs and call off the war.” While he still strongly condemns drug use, he nevertheless wants to put these dangers into context: “Which is the greater evil? Legalized narcotics for America’s young or a failed state of 110 million on our southern border?”

1. William F. Buckley
As the founder and editor-in-chief of the conservative National Review, Bill Buckley criticized and agitated the American left for decades. But there was one issue where he and his opponents could find common ground: legalizing marijuana. Since banning cannabis has not prevented consumption, he quipped, “It requires less effort for a college student to find marijuana than for a sailor to find a brothel.” He also mocked those who argue that cannabis is a “gateway drug,” since that would be “on the order of saying that every rapist began by masturbating.”