VIRGIN BOSS DOESN'T RULE OUT THE SALE OF LEGALISED CANNABIS

VIRGIN boss Richard Branson yesterday insisted his company would not sell
cigarettes - but he would not rule out promoting cannabis if the drug was
legalised.

The millionaire businessman said that to encourage youngsters to smoke
would be ''immoral''.

But although he was not advocating the sale of cannabis if it was
legalised, he said: ''If a cigarette company started selling it at too high
a price, I'm sure we'd be in there.''

He was speaking on the importance of brands on BBC2's The Money Programme
and was questioned by members of the audience, containing some of Britain's
leading entrepreneurs.

When asked what Virgin would not get involved in he replied: ''I think
cigarettes, because I think Virgin is still a fairly young, youthful brand,
and I feel that encouraging young people to start to smoke is immoral.''

And when quizzed about cannabis he said: ''I think it should be legalised.

''I think if people smoke, it's best they don't do it with tobacco, and I
think it's wrong that 100,000 people have criminal records every year for
doing something which is no worse than their parents do every night, drink
alcohol.''

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski