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.

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• travel
• hempfest
• pot
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• civil liberty
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• legalization
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[john34841]

Rick Steves is awesome, I loved his videos even before I knew he was a supporter of civil liberties.

[DoctressJulia]

I LOVE YOU, RICK STEVES!

[viniciusb]

Here's the root of the problem and why drugs will not be legalized in the States. Corporations run every faction of this country, including the incarceration system. There are more and more private jails being built in America and the cost for taxpayers can reach 50K/year per prisoner, approx. $135/day. Even public prisons outsource their services to companies such as Dick Cheney's Halliburton. They are hotels one can't checkout, the only difference is that you get stuck with the bill.

[viniciusb]

@jakenbishop He is straight and married with a couple of kids, not that it should matter.

[jakenbishop]

I love what he has to say but is he also gay? just wondering.

[yankeecolin21]

holy shit around 1:49 the guy behind him looks the exact same!?

[MasterTubing]

I'm of the belief that everyone has the civil right to responsibly consume any substance they see fit for themselves, and I have the right to take the piss out of drug fucked twits who ramble on making no sense resulting in great entertainment for us drug-free sensible ones. My civil liberty, lmao!

[KayCris1128]

Ron Paul, if you don't know him look him up. The War on Drugs is an expensive, dangerous, and has already failed.

[Gabriel123760]

Ah who cares he works for PBS

[TheSlinkyGuyShow]

@TheBgoz Exactly.

[MarkInEugene]

Sensible, wonderful, interesting human being. I'm not a smoker, but I'm in complete agreement with Rick! I've sent requests to both my senators and representative after hearing his common sense explanation to get Congress to approach this issue with greater rationality and less idiotic paranoid conservative oppression.

[TheBgoz]

it's just weed...i don't get what the big deal is.