Richard Branson Calls For U.K. Cannabis Reform As Public Support Grows
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/richard-branson-calls-uk-cannabis-181959300.html
Posted by haddock420
Richard Branson Calls For U.K. Cannabis Reform As Public Support Grows
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/richard-branson-calls-uk-cannabis-181959300.html
Posted by haddock420
10 Comments
We are one of the world’s biggest suppliers of cannabis for medical and scientific uses. It’s incredibly hypocritical for us to treat cannabis the way we do while we as a culture abuse alcohol as we do.
Can’t stand the stuff but at this point I walk past people just casually smoking it in the street almost every day and no one really seems to give a shit, the police least of all. Either enforce the ban or call it a day and legalise it since it’s essentially legalised at this point any way.
Can’t wait to tell my dad, he’ll absolutely hate this. Always goes on how he met Richard Branson and that he was a nice guy in the 90s. My dad respects him more than me, probably. lol
Boy does my dad hate cannabis, should be a fun conversation to have at Sunday lunch today; can’t wait for it to get out of hand in an explosive moment so that the rest of the dinner is dead silent bar cutlery and plate noises. lmao
In Chinese there is a phrase called 家破人亡 which roughly translate to “Homes destroyed, people killed” .
Richard Branson likely going to have stakes in drug companies
One thing about legalisation that would bring benefit, would be the “cafe” culture we see in the Netherlands and some US states.
I’d imagine most towns across the country would have some sort of physical presence required, and what better locations would it be for the closed down pub to refurbished and turned into dispensaries / lounges.
Create jobs, refurbish closed down buildings, bring in tax revenue… seems a no brainier.
I’m not sure I’m aware of someone getting high and starting a fight outside a nightclub or having a series domestic incident… yet we put up with the policing demand with alcohol and no one ever says anything to the contrary due to history.
The neck on this guy to not just keep his head down after showing up in the Epstein files. Go fuck yourself Branson.
Lots of people complaining about the smell, part of that reason is due to it being illegal. Producers in the black market make stronger stuff to reduce the amount of product they need to move, which makes the smell more potent. Yet again another example of the outcomes of banning stuff you don’t like or understand
I notice people tend to focus on the potential social ills and public health problems when thinking about creating a regulated market for recreational drugs.
People don’t seem to think about the fact that [prohibition is a failed policy](https://globalcommissionondrugs.org/gcdp-reports/time-to-end-prohibition/), the market already exists, it’s just completely unregulated and run by violent criminal enterprises at every stage of the supply chain.
The leaders of the Kinahan cartel were [recently spotted in Dubai at an MMA event](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/investigation-finds-kinahan-cartel-leaders-living-openly-dubai). Daniel Kinahan has since [been arrested there](https://www.icij.org/news/2026/04/cartel-boss-daniel-kinahan-arrested-in-dubai/). They’ve been operating out of the Middle East because they’re [trafficking drugs and laundering money via Hezbollah](https://themobmuseum.org/blog/irish-drug-kingpin-living-in-dubai-attracts-new-attention/), the Iran-backed Lebanese militia. Drug trafficking is [one of Hezbollah’s biggest independent revenue streams](https://legalclarity.org/who-funds-hezbollah-state-sponsors-and-global-networks/), generating around $300 million a year alongside the roughly $700 million it gets from Iran.
Everything from [knife crime and gang violence in inner cities](https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/drug-trafficking) to terrorism, human trafficking, and even large parts of countries basically being turned into warzones e.g. [Mexico](https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/mexicos-long-war-drugs-crime-and-cartels), are all a direct result of drugs prohibition and the enormous black market it’s created.
The side effects of drugs prohibition seem orders of magnitude worse than what it’s supposed to prevent, and even at that, [it’s completely failed to prevent what it’s supposed to prevent](https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1157836).
It’s such an easy win that would bring a lot of regular, nice, friendly, everyday folk within the law. Along with a shitload of tax revenue.
At the same time it would limit the need for a lot of young people to expose themselves to the shadier sides of growing up and potentially do daft shit like me and my friends did.
Not smoked in a while, but if I could pick up a pack of gummies from tesco on my weekly shop I reckon I would probably drink less and be more happier in my day to day adventures.
I remember when I was 17 I made a bet with a friend that by the time I was 21 it would be legal or on the way to it.
I’m 37 this year. I just don’t see this country ever seeing sense