Billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who is also on the Global Commission on Drug Policy speaks on America’s racist take on the war on drugs…
In a recent interview with Metro:
American drugs policy is a “war on black people” and results in the jailing of too many African Americans, billionaire entrepreneur and drugs law campaigner Sir Richard Branson told Metro Wednesday. Branson, who is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a body of leading figures and politicians campaigning for more effective drugs laws, said the U.S. approach to drugs was “racist.”
“The fundamental difference in America, is that it is a war against black people in America. It’s black people … 85 percent of people who go to prison for drug use in America are black people. They don’t take more drugs, but it’s a racist law against black people in America,” he said.
Branson was speaking at the Broadway offices of Metro New York, where he was Global Guest Editor for all of Metro’s sister titles around the world. Branson and the Commission call for a fresh approach, urging governments to treat addiction as an illness, best tacked by treatment and education, rather than as a crime.
He cited the example of Portugal, which has decriminalized drug use, although it continues to prosecute drug traffickers and dealers.
