Richard Branson: US War on Drugs is ‘Racist’

On Wednesday, while reacting to the death of an American border agent, Sir Richard Branson told Reuters that the American War on Drugs is not only a failure, it is also “racist.”

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Speaking at the offices of the Metro Newspaper in New York where he was acting as a “global guest editor,” Branson said that he was part of a commission that spent two years looking at the war on drugs and they came to the conclusion that it is “patently obvious it’s failed.” Branson noted that other nations, like Portugal, have made changes to their policies that have helped alleviate their drug problems and suggested that the U.S. follow suit.

When asked if the U.S. is different, Branson went on a tirade of sorts claiming that the American war on drugs will be harder to change for the better because it’s all about racism.

“I’ll tell you what’s different. I’ll tell you what the fundamental difference in America is, it, it is a war against black people in America. It’s black people that 85 percent of people who go to prison in America for taking drugs is black people. They don’t take more drugs, but it’s a racist law against black people in America.”

“The law should be changed,” Branson insisted. “You’ve got something like 1.5 million people in American jails languishing for taking drugs and that is wrong. Those people would be much better being out in society, being helped if they have drug problems, getting off the problem.”