Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson says U.S. drug policy outdated and calls on states to vote for legalisation

Richard Branson, the billionaire chairman of the Virgin group has penned an open letter today calling for both political parties to back the legalisation of marijuana.



Pointing to upcoming November ballots in the states of Colorado, Washington and Oregon to regulate the sale of marijuana, Branson also cites what he sees as a sea change in support among the public in the U.S. for a change in federal policy on the war on drugs.



'We have reached a watershed moment for drug reform in the U.S. as attitudes and opinions across the country have dramatically shifted,' writes Branson who also cites the enormous negative financial and social cost drugs bring to bear as reasons to legalise cannabis.

Sir Richard Branson has penned an open letter to today calling for the U.S. to re-examine its marijuana laws

Writing for the Huffington Post, the Virgin boss reasons that a recent Gallup Poll found that 50 percent of Americans now support legalising marijuana.



Branson, who reportedly asked President Obama for drugs when he visited the White House earlier this year, is a well known supporter of cannabis legalisation and took his opportunity to voice his opinion at the halfway stage of both political parties national conventions.

Appealing to both Republicans and Democrats, Branson outlines the financial cost to the country as it battles to control the proliferation of the drug trade as well as the cost on minorities.



'The U.S. currently spends no less than $51 billion - per year - on the war on drugs,' writes Branson.

With three states putting cannabis reform on the November ballot, Branson says that individual states should be allowed to set their own laws and that federal expense should be redirected to rehabilitation and prevention

Richard Branson with his planned Virgin Galactic space plane - the billionaire has called for an over-haul in U.S. drug laws

'That's double what Apple profited last year. It's a horribly depressing number when you think how far even a fraction of that money would have gone if invested in prevention and rehabilitation efforts.



'With so much rhetoric on the economy in this election year, it is startling that no one has looked to drug reform to unlock resources.'



Backing this up, Branson claims that a large portion of the money spent on the war on drugs goes towards active criminalisation.



'I recently had the privilege of spending time with Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative,' writes Branson.



'I was shocked when he pointed out that back in the 1970s there were only 300,000 people in prison in the U.S.!



'Forty years later, the number of people incarcerated -- 2.3 million -- is greater than the population of Houston, Texas.'

The Virgin boss feels that the war on drugs waged by the federal government to the tune of $51 billion a year is not directed into the proper channels

Furthermore, Branson claims that one in three black men in the U.S. will be incarcerated between the ages of 18-30 and that this is down to the current drug police in the U.S.



'Marijuana is the lynchpin drug,' writes Branson.



'Half of all drug arrests are for marijuana. More than 850,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana in 2010 - 88 percent of these for possession alone.'



And while these arrests are damaging for the social fabric of the nation, they undermine the economic prospects too argues Branson.



'A recent Pew study revealed that incarceration reduces former inmates' earnings by 40 percent -- further devastating their families and their communities,' writes Branson, who is celebrated as one of the world's most able entrepreneurs and is worth a reputed $4.2bn.

'This type of blanket incarceration dismisses root causes, disenfranchises millions and most likely results in repeat offenses rather than cleaning up the problem.



'We need new approaches that treat drug use as a health issue and not a criminal one.'

Branson says that over 800,000 people are arrested for drugs offences in the U.S. each year - a number he feels is too high

Pointing out that 55,000 lives have been lost across the border fighting drugs in Mexico, Branson's call to reorganise the drug laws in the U.S. is focused on reform.



Appealing to the democratic nature of U.S. voters, the Virgin chief argues for drugs policy to be returned to states and not to be set at a federal level, at least for marijuana.



'As a business leader, I have learned the importance of delegating responsibilities and letting entrepreneurs get on with it,' writes Branson.



'In U.S. drug reform, those entrepreneurs are the states.



'At least seventeen states as well as the District of Columbia already allow provisions for medical marijuana.



'California, of course, has continued to embark on new frontiers, and politicians would be wise to ensure that legitimate medical marijuana dispensaries are not undermined by federal statutes.'



Calling the reform of America's drug laws a 'win-win' for both parties, marijuana advocate Branson is adamant that the U.S. is living in the past.

