DRUG STRATEGY COULD BECOME ELECTION CASUALTY: OWEN

Vancouver - Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen is worried that this four-pillar
drug strategy could fall by the wayside after this November's civic election.

Even though all the leading candidates for mayor have embraced the four
pillars, he's concerned that whoever wins on November 16 will back off.

"I'm afraid that on the 18th of November that we'll hear from the winner,
whoever that might happen to be, 'oh well I didn't take that long, I didn't
think it would be that expensive, I didn't realize we didn't have that law
in place now, blah, blah'," says the mayor.

He says voters should question candidates about their stand on drug
strategies before the November 16 civic elections.

Owen made his comments at the close of a two-day forum examining
Vancouver's drug problem.

New Mexico's Republican Governor Gary Johnson who was part of the forum,
applauds Vancouver as a North American leader in dealing with the issue.

"You've gotten to a place that I think is enviable," he says."You've taken
a leadership role here in Vancouver, and I'd like to see you continue that
leadership role."

Governor Johnson says he supports Owen's push for safe injection sites in
Vancouver as part of a balanced drug strategy.

The forum also saw the governor, the mayor and two Canadian senators all to
call for marijuana possession to be legalized.