rick steves glass of pot.jpg

Travel writer Rick Steves (Via Rick Steves Facebook)

(Facebook.com)

Rick Steves is widely known for his European travel guides and PBS television show.

But he's also a proponent of marijuana legalization, and he plans to swing through Massachusetts later this year. The Bay State will likely consider a measure legalizing the drug in November.

"The year 2016 promises to be an exciting one in the ongoing effort to end our federal government's prohibition on marijuana, and I'm hoping to help out," Steves wrote on his blog.

"Every two years, I spend 8 or 10 October days before a November election on a barnstorming tour explaining to people and local press why taxing and regulating pot is smarter than locking up responsible adults for smoking it," Steves added.

Steves, a member of the board of directors for NORML, a marijuana legalization group, said he'll be swinging through Massachusetts and Maine, much like he campaigned in Washington in 2012 and Oregon in 2014.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is hoping to place a measure on the November statewide ballot legalizing marijuana.

Marijuana prohibition is a serious issue and I appreciate your thoughtful comments.



Find my responses here: https://t.co/octrj6NM6E — Rick Steves (@RickSteves) February 22, 2016

Earlier this week, Steves posted comments and answers to questions from readers on his blog.

"I am not 'pro-pot,'" Steves wrote. "I believe marijuana is a drug, it's not healthy, and it can be abused."

He added: "I also believe it is wrong to criminalize it. I'm into 'pragmatic harm reduction' and I believe treating it as a health and education challenge rather than a criminal problem is smarter."

Massachusetts voters approved decriminalizing marijuana in 2008 and legalizing marijuana for medical use in 2012.

Earlier this month, the state's fifth and sixth medical marijuana dispensaries opened in Lowell and Brookline.

Some of the state's top elected officials have outlined their opposition to legalizing marijuana, including Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Walsh has called marijuana a gateway drug that leads to hard drugs.

A law enforcement official said earlier this month that Massachusetts police officers are not ready for marijuana legalization.

Recreational marijuana is legal in four states (Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington) and the District of Columbia, and 23 states allow marijuana for medical use.