President Clinton on AIDS & the war on drugs
- By Richard Branson -
- Jul 30, 2012
At the closing plenary of the International AIDS Conference, President Bill Clinton called for addressing drug use as a public health issue - instead of as a criminal justice issue.
President Clinton is the latest highly respected figure to highlight the huge role the war on drugs is playing in fuelling the AIDS epidemic.
In his keynote address he cited amfAR founding chair Mathilde Krim and Drug Policy Alliance’s Ethan Nadelmann’s recent Huffington Post article, which identified the need to address drug policy reform in order to end the AIDS epidemic.
President Clinton also praised the progress made so far in the battle against AIDS, but stressed that much work is still to be done. He said: “Millions of people, and an AIDS free generation, still depend on your daily tenacity and courage.”
We cannot carry on allowing repressive drug policies get in the way of the public's health, and must continue to urge our leaders to change the way drug use is dealt with.
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
