Sir Richard Branson has never been afraid to tackle big, thorny business problems or large, complex social issues. One of his latest challenges: Ending the war on drugs, combines both of them.
"As a businessman, if one of my businesses is failing for a year or two I'll close it down or change tack," says Sir Richard, founder of the Virgin Group, about the failed government campaigns to eliminate drug use. "This particular business approach has failed for 50 years and it's gotten worse and worse each year, and governments have not changed tack."
As a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Sir Richard Branson has emerged as a proponent for alternative strategies to the tactics used in the current war on drugs. Sir Richard spoke with Michael Montgomery, reporter and producer at The Center for Investigative Reporting and KQED Public Radio, following a recent screening of the documentary film, Breaking the Taboo in San Francisco.
When asked about the future for a legal marijuana industry in Washington, Colorado and potentially California, Sir Richard declares," My personal opinion is that marijuana should be legalized worldwide and regulated and taxed." Sir Richard concludes that if not for his conflict of interest as a Global Drug Policy Commissioner, that "Yes, I think I would invest" in the marijuana industry.
Watch the entire interview from FORA.tv Studios here.