Richard Branson wants to keep pressure on the UN
This morning Richard Branson posted a diary entry on
virgin.com that says the United Nations has drafted and is ready to call on the world's governments to decriminalize drugs.
In an as-yet unreleased statement circulated to the BBC, myself and others, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has shaped much of global drug policy for decades, call on governments around the world to decriminalise drug use and possession for personal consumption for all drugs. This is a refreshing shift that could go a long way to finally end the needless criminalisation 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 feels that outside pressures may lead the U.N. to get cold feet and so he is putting this information out to the public before they can back down.
It’s good to see evidence and common sense prevail at UNODC. Which government wouldn’t agree with that? But as I'm writing this I am hearing that at least one government is putting an inordinate amount of pressure on the UNODC. Let us hope the UNODC, a global organisation 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. The war on drugs has done too much damage to too many people already.
He has also included a copy of the UNODC's briefing on decriminalization, which you can see below the fold.