© Lucas Jackson / Reuters
In a surprise post on the website of his company, Virgin, the entrepreneur and drugs campaigner said the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is about to announce a "refreshing shift" in direction.
Branson claims he broke a global media embargo to make the announcement, as the news was due to have been launched at a conference on Sunday. The Virgin chief said he feared the UN would bow to political pressure and withdraw the statement at the last minute.
"In an as-yet unreleased statement circulated to the BBC, myself and others, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, which has shaped much of global drug policy for decades, calls on governments around the world to decriminalize drug use and possession for personal consumption for all drugs," Branson wrote.
"This is a refreshing shift that could go a long way to finally end the needless criminalization of millions of drug users around the world. The UNODC document was due to be launched at the International Harm reduction conference in Malaysia yesterday."
Branson went on to say that at least one government was already putting an "inordinate amount of pressure" on the UNODC over the announcement.
"Let us hope the UNODC, a global organization that is part of the UN and supposed to do what is right for the people of the world, does not do a remarkable volte-face at the last possible moment and bow to pressure by not going ahead with this important move," he said.
"The war on drugs has done too much damage to too many people already."
Maybe they will listen to Sir Richard Branson, cause they certainly won't listen to the people, the facts, the statistics from other countries like Portugal, etc etc..
In North Korea marijuana is sold in the market place !
!0 years after Portugal legalized all drugs guess what all crime down, HIV numbers down, prostitution down, murder down, human trafficking down, cartels gone, cost of prisons down, money going to social programs up, employment up, people doing drugs down! Minors doing drugs down, so what the flip!
Until my country the USA follows suit I will not ever respect one poli- tic-ian that supports the war on drugs that has drained my pocketbook all my working life!
Just like war, inc the war on drugs is big business and continues to fleece the plebs!
Oh PS Colorado has so much revenue just from pot they will start giving a check to every citizen as a way of giving back the immense wealth from legalizing just a green plant God in his wisdom designed!
The war on everything has had it's generational servitude, embrace a true lifestyle that is the Healing of our Planet!