PBS Travel Guru Rick Steves: Smoking Pot is "My Civil Liberty"

"I'm a hardworking, tax-paying, kid-raising, church-going citizen of this country," say author and PBS travel host Rick Steves, "and if I work hard all day long and want to go home and relax with a joint, that is my civil liberty."

Reason.tv caught up with Steves at Seattle Hempfest in August, where he spoke with Nick Gillespie about marijuana laws and whether his outspoken defense of legalization has effected his books sales, tour bookings, and television career.

Seattle Hempfest is an annual event that started in 1991 as a protest against the prohibition of marijuana, the commercial cultivation of non-psychoactive hemp for a variety of uses, and related issues. For 20 years, tens of thousands of people gather each summer to listen to speakers and bands and to show their support for legalizing pot and hemp products.

About 4.15 minutes. Shot by Alex Manning and edited by Meredith Bragg.

Visit Reason.tv for HD, iPod and audio versions of this video and subscribe to our YouTube Channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

• Category

  News & Politics

[MrRelys]

Hello, my name is _______. I watch the news because it tells me the truth. I don't do drugs, but I smoke cigarettes and swallow xanax and drink alcohol and coffee. I both love and eat animals, but habitually avoid any ethical discussion regarding this paradox. I want a job that gives lots of money but requires little work.

I can't see the problems in the world because I haven't thought to look for them in a mirror.

[breathnstop]

i think he is just using the buzz words that most conservatives banty around to describe "responsible citizens", its sort of tongue in cheek. like, "hey average white guys in america with mortgages and lawns to mow, and who take their kids to sunday school think pot should be legalized too". he is just blasting the stereotype to make a statement, the stereotype of a antisocial drug abuser.

[TheAbracadabra1995]

I always have been a great fan of his shows. But now I admire him even more!

[funkster220]

Rick Steves, as much as one man can love another in a platonic way, I love you man.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Love that quote. It makes all the sense in the world

[zoomustard]

Your problem is obvious by your own admission.

"Travel is fatal to prejudice bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain.

.

[nguyenimproved14]

fuck lonely planet.

I loved this guy's honest travel guides.

[vwohllaib]

I'm all for civil liberties!



[LowerTheBoom1]

Is Rick Steve's a liberal ninny twit know-nothing know-it-all.

[diabinhoUSA]

Cheech, Chong and Rick. I always enjoyed his travel shows, but I never knew he was so cool.

[reviewguy12]

America is so stupid. People who are smoking pot are already doing! keeping it illegal only makes the problem worse. 800,000 people go to jail for a harmless crime and have their lives ruined. Most of those people contribute to the economy. it costs 28 billion dollars to keep those people in jail. imagine how many addiction clinics we could open up with that money. That is what will help.

[brod2man]

loved him as a travel host especially in Iran, but now adding this guy to my list 'awesome people'