Virgin mogul Richard Branson calls war on drugs a trillion-dollar failure

It has been four decades since the United States declared a war on drugs. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group calls America's campaign against drugs a failure.

Branson compares the failure of the war on drugs to Prohibition. He cited the increase of alcohol consumption and the proliferation of organized crime.

War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure

"Here we are, four decades after Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs in 1971 and $1 trillion spent since then. What do we have to show for it?

The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world, with about 2.3 million behind bars. More than half a million of those people are incarcerated for a drug law violation. What a waste of young lives."

Branson calls for alternatives to the current drug policy - he writes the U.S. should focus on education, health, taxation and regulation.

Richard Branson has a new documentary, "Breaking the Taboo" on the global policy on drugs and its failure and is OutFront with Erin Burnett tonight.

Tune to Erin Burnett OutFront at 7p and 11p ET on CNN.