For Immediate Release
Contact: Ashley Sytsma
(425) 608-4293
Rick Steves to Speak at NORML Convention
Popular European travel teacher to compare the US & EU approaches to drug policy
Edmonds, WA, October 8, 2007
Date: October 12, 2007
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Location: Sheraton Universal Hotel, Universal City, CA
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws' (NORML) Convention will present an opportunity for the Los Angeles community to meet the founder and president of Europe Through the Back Door, Rick Steves. On October 12, Steves will speak at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, addressing issues on the marijuana prohibition policy in the United States. In particular Steves will draw from his experience as a European travel teacher to explore the drug policies of the United States and the European Union.
Steves hopes this opportunity to speak at the NORML Convention will bring an international perspective on this controversial domestic issue. "I've studied the European Union's drug policy pages, and — while America tends to treat drug use as a moral and legal issue — the goal in Europe is simple: pragmatic harm reduction, starting with the premise that drug addiction is an illness, not a crime."
Steves, a professional observer of European culture, will present his unique insight of European drug policy. For example, Steves paints a picture of infamous pot-loving countries, such as the Netherlands, as pragmatic problem solvers creatively reducing drug related deaths and crimes. "In Zürich, I noticed blue lights in the public toilets. Why? So junkies can't find their veins." Steves continues by saying that in Europe "marijuana is considered a soft drug, like booze and tobacco — a health problem, important to regulate, but not worth locking people up over... Rather than being 'hard on drugs', Europe chooses to be 'smart on drugs'."
Steves hosts, writes and produces the popular public television series Rick Steves' Europe, authors over 30 European travel books, hosts of the public radio program Travel with Rick Steves, and operates an extensive European tour company that focuses on traveling as a "temporary local". He is also an active member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a board member of NORML (working to reform marijuana laws in the USA), and has provided his local YWCA with a 24-unit apartment building with which to house homeless mothers.
For a complete collection of Steves' articles on drug policy reform, please visit www.ricksteves.com/reform. Please contact Ashley Sytsma, Publicist, for press opportunities for Rick Steves.