In Santiago, Chile
- By Richard Branson -
- Apr 10, 2012
Excited to be in Santiago, Chile, to launch Virgin Mobile.
While here, also paying great attention to the upcoming Summit of the Americas starting Saturday in Colombia, where leaders from across this hemisphere will discuss drug policy reform for the first time. It's no secret that the war on drugs is costing billions and leading to more violence while making drug cartels richer and more powerful. Joining a discussion with Asuntos del Sur here and hoping that Chile's leaders will join the call for sane and humane drug policy reform.
Several of my fellow Commissioners from the Global Commission on Drug Policy are former Presidents of Latin American nations, and you can read their thoughts ahead of the Summit here. I second them in commending regional leaders like President Molina of Guatemala, President Santos of Colombia, and President Chinchilla of Costa Rica, who are all standing up to challenge the status quo on drug policy.
Urging leaders from the United States to Argentina to here in Chile to give this debate serious thought and start implementing reforms that treat drug use first as a health issue and focus law enforcement on violent organised crime syndicates.
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
