The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is on the verge of calling for governments around the world to end the "war on drugs" by decriminalizing the possession and use of all illegal drugs, according to a statement from businessman and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.
Branson wrote on his Virgin website that he was shown a report from the UNODC, an agency that has been responsible for shaping much of the global drug policy for decades, calling "on governments around the world to decriminalize drug use and possession for personal consumption for all drugs."
"It's exciting that the UNODC has now unequivocally stated that criminalization is harmful, unnecessary and disproportionate, echoing concerns about the immense human and economic costs of current drug policies voiced earlier by UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, UNDP, The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Women, Kofi Annan and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon," wrote Branson, who sits on the Global Commission on Drug Policy, according to the Guardian.
"This is a refreshing shift that could go a long way to finally end the needless criminalization of millions of drug users around the world," Branson wrote. "We should treat drug use as a health issue, not as a crime," he added.
Branson said the as-yet unreleased U.N. statement had been sent to various media outlets under embargo, including the BBC, but the businessman decided to make it public hoping he can prevent the U.N. from bowing to external political pressure and deciding to not release the statement.
"But as I'm writing this," Branson added, "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 organization that is part of the U.N. 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."
The UNODC document was due to be launched at the International Harm reduction conference in Malaysia yesterday, which has now been delayed, according to Branson.
A U.N. spokesman told The Telegraph that the two-page paper is not a formal document and may have been misinterpreted.
"The briefing paper on decriminalization...intended for dissemination and discussion at a conference in Kuala Lumpur is neither a final nor formal document from the UNODC, and cannot be read as a statement of UNODC policy. It remains under review and UNODC regrets that, on this occasion, there has been an unfortunate misunderstanding about the nature and intent of this briefing paper. UNODC emphatically denies reports that there has been pressure on UNODC to withdraw the document. But, it is not possible to withdraw what is not yet ready," the spokesman said.
He added: "Overall, UNODC remains committed to the balanced approach that, in particular, promotes alternatives to incarceration in line with international human rights standards."
