rick steves is typically known for his travel expertise but since 2012 he has also been a vocal proponent for adult use cannabis legalization the host of rick steves europe considers himself to be a different type of spokesperson as opposed to say snoop dog or tommy chong who can take the fear out of cannabis i realized ive got something to offer because im a businessman im a leader in my church and im not a counterculture kind of person steves told benzinga bringing what he considers a european sensibility to the discussion steves believes harm reduction is the way not incarceration steves pointed towards the ill effects of opioids and the ongoing drug war from disproportionate arrest rates to the cost of policing all playing a factor i think it just makes more sense to take the crime out of the equation and talk about it in terms of education and health he said steves first began stumping for legalization in his home state of washington he has since pushed for legalization in various states this time around the norml board member is lending his voice to arizona and new jersey he chose the two states on the same criteria he does every election cycle every two years i get on board to support laws that i would consider public health laws steves said factors in his decision include road safety employee rights and respecting citizens wishes who prefer not to take part among others every year we get smarter at how we do legalization he said unlike european markets such as the netherlands where distribution and wholesale laws remain in a gray area states have often done their part to create regulations that address the illicit market and provide tax revenue to the community steves credited such laws for creating a lucrative marketplace where operators strive to remain compliant and carefully managed the key to keeping the illicit market in check is to ensure that taxes and other prices are never too high in the legal space an issue that several states contend with he explained while some states continue to lag steves is pleased with the markets progress overall including in washington state the laws are getting smarter and im proud of the work were doing he said legislative activity is taking shape on the state and national level including the recent punting of the more act vote until the postelection lameduck session politicians tend to be overly cautious and fear the soft on drugs label steves says i think they would rather not be on the record one way or another for something like the more act before the election he said nevertheless steves says momentum is in cannabis favor with growing public support and increasing state revenues he does not see lawmakers being able to backpedal on the issue much longer were at the tipping point where now the federal governments going to recognize its time for this prohibition to go steves said related links  us election could renew push for federal cannabis legalization  ask our experts 2220 washington states legal cannabis market