Author and travel expert Rick Steves has long studied drug and marijuana policies around the world, and he told Cheddar that the United States should take a page from Europe’s rulebook.
“In our society, especially with the way our administration is approaching the drug problem, it’s just ‘moralize and lock them up’, and it’s just not productive,” he said Tuesday. “In Europe, the word for addicted is ‘enslaved.’ People aren’t criminals, they’re sick … they need help to get over this problem.”
This White House has taken a harsher stance on drugs than its predecessor, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions scrapping Obama-era rules stopping the federal government from interfering with states’ cannabis laws, and President Donald Trump even suggesting the death penalty for dealers.
Steves, who co-sponsored a bill legalizing weed in Washington state, champions a more empathetic approach. He’s studied European drug laws for 15 years and says that, on the continent where “a joint is about as exciting as a can of beer,” effective policies keep incarceration rates low.
“Learn about Europe’s challenges with marijuana and its opioid problem, bring it home, and our society can learn.”
While Steves says he isn’t necessarily “pro-marijuana”, he is a strong advocate of ending “stupid” bans on its use.
“I’m just interested in [ending] incarceration and racist drug laws,” he said.
Currently, adult recreational marijuana use is legal in nine states and Washington, D.C.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/travel-as-a-political-act).
California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing a recall election in about two weeks. Newsom was elected governor in 2018 with nearly 62% of the vote after working as lieutenant governor for eight years. However, his popularity took a hit after his handling of Covid-19 pandemic, although the White House is refusing to cite this as the direct reason for the September 14th recall election. There are 46 candidates running to be Newsom's replacement, and some are saying that California could end up electing a republican governor.
Jeremy White, California politics reporter and co-writer of daily California Playbook Newsletter at Politico, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more about the election and its possible outcomes.
President Joe Biden says the United States will complete it's evacuation of Americans and others from Kabul, despite the attack that killed 12 U.S. service members and many Afghan civilians.
Crypto-enthusiasts are taking to social media to urge regular Afghans to adopt bitcoin in the face of considerable economic uncertainty.
The U.S. economy grew at a 6.6% annual rate last quarter, slightly faster than previously estimated, the government said Thursday in a report that pointed to a sustained consumer-led rebound from the pandemic recession.
The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says it plans to build an undersea tunnel so that massive amounts of treated but still radioactive water can be released into the ocean about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) away from the plant to avoid interference with local fishing.
Two suicide bombers and gunmen have targeted crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport, in the waning days of a massive airlift that has drawn thousands of people seeking to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose for the first time in five weeks even though the economy and job market have been recovering briskly from the coronavirus pandemic.
Secretary of State Blinken said Wednesday that as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan.
Kathy Hochul became the first female governor of New York on Tuesday, vowing to bring new energy and urgency to solving immense challenges as she took over an administration criticized for inaction.
U.S military troops flying round the clock have managed their biggest day of airlifts out of Afghanistan by far.
