Hi, I'm Rick Steves. I just visited Maine
to share the lessons my state, Washington,
has learned in the four years since we
voted to legalize, tax and regulate
marijuana for adults.
During my visit, Maine Governor Paul
LePage issued a video statement against
Question 1 - that's Maine's initiative to
legalize marijuana. Across our nation,
politicians are talking about marijuana
like it's 2010. It's been several years
now and we have a track record and we
know out-of-date talking points like the
governor's deserve a point-by-point response.
LePage: Question 1 is not just bad
for Maine - it can be deadly.
Steves: Governor LePage, experience has taught us
that the most dangerous thing about
marijuana is the very fact that it's illegal.
LePage: Marijuana kills people on the highways.
Steves: No, impaired and reckless
drivers kill people on the highways. We
agree that anyone driving intoxicated or
impaired by anything should have the
book thrown at them.
LePage: Traffic deaths in Colorado have increased dramatically.
Steves: Governor, that is simply not so. 25 states
are legal medical or recreational
marijuana states, and there's no evidence
that this has impacted safety on their
roads. In fact, Washington state, where I
drive, is among the safest places to
drive anywhere in the country.
LePage: Marijuana is three times stronger than
it was in the 1980s.
Steves: Yes, and that's the result of a prohibition. When
a drug is criminalized it becomes more
potent. America went into prohibition
against alcohol a beer-drinking nation,
and came out a whiskey-drinking nation.
By the way, so far all of your complaints
have assumed that pot use will spike up
if we legalize. My state and Colorado
have shown that use stays about the same.
In fact, no society has found any
correlation between the strictness of
their laws and how much marijuana is smoked.
LePage: People addicted to marijuana
three times more likely to be addicted
to heroin.
Steves: We've learned that the only thing
gateway about marijuana is the fact that
it's illegal. People then have to buy it
from criminals on the street
who have a vested interest in selling
you something more addictive and more
profitable. If we care about the opioid
problem in our society, we need to look
at the pharmaceutical industry, not marijuana.
LePage: Heroin is already killing
seven Mainers a week. We do not need to
legalize another drug that could lead to
more deaths.
Steves: European countries that have
reformed their marijuana laws have done
so in order to deal more effectively
with their heroin-addicted population. In
Europe, people know that a society has to
make a choice: tolerate alternative
lifestyles or build more prisons. Then
they always remind me that we Americans
lock up about eight times as many people
per capita as they do. Either we are an
inherently more criminal people or
there's something screwy about our laws.
LePage: THC levels of marijuana snacks are so
high they could kill children and pets
Steves: Sir, that is complete nonsense. THC has
never killed anyone nor can it. Perhaps
you're thinking of the misuse of
pharmaceuticals or alcohol.
LePage: Pot snacks like cookies, candy, gummy bears and soda -
children can't tell if their weed is in these snacks.
Steves: Marijuana is a drug. It can
be abused, and no one in the drug reform
community believes it's for children.
Edibles must be packaged smartly and
labeled clearly. Yes, children's safety is
a very important issue - that's why the
Children's Alliance in my state endorsed
our law to legalize marijuana for adults.
LePage: People will smoke marijuana and pot
stores right next to schools, daycare
centers and churches.
Steves: Your state's law is
not a pro-pot law. Like the law in my
state, it's a common sense public safety
law. Smoking in public is not allowed.
Advertising to kids is not allowed. It
strictly limits both how marijuana
stores can advertise, and where they can
be located.
LePage: They will smoke weed and sell pot at
state fairs.
Steves: Governor, the people of your
state already do. Again, under the
proposed initiative, consumption in
public will remain illegal.
LePage: Businesses could not fire employees for using marijuana.
Steves: Like my state's law, with your
state's law an employer can still
maintain whatever standards he or she
chooses in that workplace.
LePage: Before you vote,
please educate yourself on this
dangerous issue.
Steves: That's a great idea,
Governor LePage. Before you vote, please
educate yourself.
We've come a long way and we've learned
a lot. Four states, including mine, have
made marijuana legal for adults, and the
numbers are in. Teen use does not go up.
Crime does not go up. DUIs do not go up.
The only thing that goes up is tax
revenue, and in my state that's
$120 million a year for
social justice, fiscal responsibility,
civil liberties, and to more smartly
fight our opioid crisis. I believe it's
time to legalize, tax and regulate
marijuana. State-by-state, with
common-sense laws, we will end the
Prohibition of our age.
Thanks, and happy travels.