01 Feb ‘Don’t jail drug users’, says Branson
The UK should resist jailing drug users and treat the issue as a health problem, Richard Branson says as judges are given new sentencing guidelines.
The Virgin boss told Sky News he believed drugs should come under the remit of the Department of Health, not the Home Office.
Mr Branson, who sits on the Global Commission on Drug Policy, made the remarks as details emerged of the legal advice set to come into force on February 27.
Friends socially sharing drugs and those using cannabis for medicinal purposes may escape jail under the revised rules.
Drug runners and small-time dealers caught with heroin, cocaine or thousands of pounds worth of cannabis could also avoid prison.
Instead, low-level operatives caught with 6kg of cannabis, 20 ecstasy tablets, or five grams of heroin or cocaine could instead receive a community sentence.
Entrepreneur Mr Branson told Boulton and Co the Government should consider going further still.
‘Our message is that drugs should be treated as a health problem not a criminal problem and that actually the DoH should be overseeing drugs and not the Home Office and that has proven very successful in other countries,’ he said.
‘Portugal 10 years ago decided they weren’t going to send anybody to prison for taking drugs and as a result the amount of drug usage has dropped dramatically.’
He said prison terms and hefty fines prevented drug users from getting ahead in society and more emphasis should be placed on weaning them off the harmful substances.