I am not sure of the scale of Richard Branson's wealth but beyond his music business he also owns a train line, an air line and is in the process of acquiring 440 of Lloyd's bank branches. So undeniably successful.
However, according to his interview with the Guardian on Saturday, Mr Branson is an occassional cannabis user.
In response, the Home Office trotted out its familiar line about drug use simply bringing, "misery to communities." How do we reconcile this? The fact is, Government spokespeople, when referring to drugs, invariably paint the picture of heroin addiction which amounts to quite a small amount of drug use.
Branson was not just indulging the journalist, he was promoting his role in the Global Commission on Drug Policy. There has not yet been such an august group of senior policy-makers from around the world who have lobbied for change on UN drug laws- including former Presidents of Mexico, Brazil, Kofi Annan and chaired by George Schultz who was Secretary of State under Reagan.
These respected figures cannot be dismissed as reckless radicals nor could they be accused of political naivety. Yet their modest recommendations were condemned strongly by the US drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, reverting to language of fear, he said, "Drug addiction is a disease...."
The reactionary politicians had an ally in most media who sought to trivialise or demean this worthy attempt at reform. At the same time a group of peers, MPs and senior police wrote to the PM asking for a review of the equally obsolete Misuse of Drugs Act. The open letter was also signed by Mike Leigh and Judi Dench so was dismissed as "Luvvies for Legalisation."
The War on Drugs, set in motion by Richard Nixon, is a hopeless failure. Ian Birrell in the Observer put it succinctly when he portayed its supporters as WWI generals unable to change tactics and oblivious to the human cost.
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