The UNODC quickly responded that the document wasn’t finished, nor was it formal, Newsweek reports.
For some time, Branson has called for the decriminalization of drug use and the possession of all drugs used for personal consumption. He is also a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, an organization that fosters international discussion about methods that are humane and effective in reducing the harm caused by drugs. Branson, the billionaire Virgin Group founder, reiterated his stance regarding the war on drugs in his blog, along with the UNODC briefing paper on Monday.
He claims the “as-yet unreleased statement” has been sent to various media outlets under an embargo, and wrote that he’s going public with it early out of worries that the UN will “bow to pressure by not going ahead with this important move,” The Independent reports.
He further wrote that the UN was going to declare “unequivocally that criminalization is harmful, unnecessary and disproportionate.” A document showing the UN’s new stance on drug control was supposed to be released Sunday at a conference in Malaysia, but that has been delayed, he said.
In his blog, he also wrote that in a statement the UNODC is calling on governments worldwide to decriminalize drug use and possession for personal consumption in regards to all drugs.
“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,” he wrote. “My colleagues on the Global Commission on Drug Policy and I could not be more delighted.”
He added that he and other advocates have argued for years that drug use should be treated as a health issue, not as a crime.
“While the vast majority of recreational drug users never experience any problems, people who struggle with drug addiction deserve access to treatment, not a prison cell,” he said.
Fearing that the organization would change its mind, he “released the announcement ahead of the UNODC due to concern that the UNODC would do a volte-face at the last possible moment,” said a spokeswoman for Branson, according to The Telegraph.
The document, titled “Decriminalization of drug use and possession for personal consumption,” states the following, according to the Telegraph:
“The international drug control conventions do not impose on member states obligations to criminalize drug use and possession for personal consumption.
“Member states should consider the implementation of measures to promote the right to health and to reduce prison-overcrowding, including by decriminalizing drug use and possession for personal consumption.”
It wasn’t long before the significance of the two-page document was contested by Vienna UN chiefs, who said it doesn’t amount to official policy, the Telegraph reports. It does, however, say that worldwide liberalization of controlled substances may need to be carried out.
In an official statement, a spokesman for the UNODC said:
“The briefing paper on decriminalization mentioned in many of today’s media reports, and intended for dissemination and discussion at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, is neither a final nor formal document from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and cannot be read as a statement of UNODC policy.”
The organization reiterated that the paper is still under review and that it regretted that “there has been an unfortunate misunderstanding about the nature and intent of this briefing paper.” The spokesman also said that the UNODC denies emphatically that there has been pressure to withdraw the document. “But, it is not possible to withdraw what is not yet ready,” he said.
The spokesman also added that the UNODC wants to maintain a balanced approach that promotes alternatives to incarceration in combination with international human rights standards.
At the end of his post on Monday, Branson wrote that the war on drugs has claimed too many victims, having “done too much damage to too many people already,” Newsweek reports. He encouraged people to join the Stop the Harm campaign, a group of non-governmental organizations that is allied with the Global Commission on Drug Policy.
