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).
Jill and Carlo talk about the latest from Tokyo including Simone Biles plans to compete in the balance beam final, Dr. Fauci's dire Delta warning, high profile vaccine mandates from employers like Walmart and Disney, and Square's acquisition of Afterpay.
A shortage of ammunition in the U.S. is having an impact on law enforcement agencies, people seeking personal protection, recreational shooters and hunters.
Scientists who studied a big COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts concluded that vaccinated people who got so-called breakthrough infections carried about the same amount of the coronavirus as those who did not get the shots.
The Biden administration has announced sweeping new pandemic rules for federal workers and some contractors.
U.S. regulators have taken action that will make it easier to get a cheaper and similar version of a brand-name insulin at the drugstore.
A new interactive tracker from the Atlantic Council shows that 81 countries are at some stage of development with a central bank digital currency, but the U.S. is notably absent from its list of frontrunners.
Fueled by vaccinations and government aid, the U.S. economy grew at a solid 6.5% annual rate last quarter in the clearest sign to date that the nation has achieved a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession.
The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits slid last week, another sign that the job market continues to recover rapidly from the coronavirus recession.
Fed-watchers had their ears peeled after Wednesday's meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee for any signal of when the central bank might start tapering its $120 billion in monthly assets purchases.
President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators have reached a deal over major outstanding issues in a $1 trillion infrastructure bill.
