How is your country’s drug policy?
- By Richard Branson -
- Jan 25, 2012
Constructive day at the House of Commons yesterday discussing drug policy with the Home Affairs Committee on drug laws.
100,000 young people in Britain get prosecuted for possessing small amounts of drugs. More than 70,000 of them get criminal records. A fair number of them end up in prison. It costs the police $350 million per year, and the police use up 20% of their time administering it.
Whereas in Portugal nobody gets prosecuted for personal possession, people with drug problems get helped. Nobody goes to prison. The amount of people who take hard drugs is halved. Which country has the more sensible policy? How is your country’s policy?
Over 10 ago David Cameron, then a backbencher, said the UK’s drug policy has been “failing for decades”. He called for “fresh thinking and a new approach” to the problem. Well, now he is Prime Minister, we hope he is brave enough to make the changes to drugs policy that would benefit society as a whole.
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
