OWEN NOT IMPRESSED BY SULLIVAN'S 'WAFFLING'

Former mayor Philip Owen says the city's supervised injection site
and needle exchanges are not "temporary measures" despite what Mayor
Sam Sullivan told the Courier last week.

As long as illegal drugs are on the street, Owen said, the two harm
reduction components are crucial to deal with what he considers a
public health crisis.

"The facts are in, the evidence is in, the statistics are in, and the
medical journals and medical experts and the people who spend any
time on drug policy reform and on drug addiction realize that these
are two very important parts of the toolbox," said Owen, who many
credit as the architect of the city's Four Pillars drug strategy.

Owen, a member of the NPA, was mayor from 1993 to 2002. Sullivan was
an NPA councillor during Owen's term and was elected mayor in 2005.
Owen endorsed Sullivan in the 2005 campaign.

In an interview June 6, Sullivan told the Courier he considered
Insite, the city's supervised injection site on East Hastings, a
temporary measure. He also called needle exchanges temporary.

Sullivan said he tailors his approach to the drug problem to the lack
of "great enthusiasm" shown by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his
Conservative government for injection sites.

He quickly added that he also took into account "the people with drug
addictions." But, he said, he shared the view of the Conservatives
that the focus should be on "new and innovative approaches" to the
drug problem.

Owen's reply to Sullivan's approach came as a question.

"Appease Ottawa? Why? They like George Bush and the war on drugs.
Lock 'em up and hang 'em high and often. I mean, gosh. Sam's kind of
a got a little problem here with this issue. He's waffling around all
the time."

Added Owen: "To try and suck up to the Harper government on harm
reduction, I think is_ well what will I say? I better not say what I
really want to say."

Owen said there is no evidence that the world is getting rid of
drugs. He recalled former U.S. president Ronald Reagan proclaiming in
1986 that America would be drug free in eight years.

Owen said the United Nations passed a resolution in 1998 that the
world would be drug free in 2008. Owen toured the Downtown Eastside
Tuesday, and he believes the drug problem is getting worse.

"It was really bad [Tuesday]. There was just unbelievable drug
dealing and young women with missing teeth and thin and blemished
faces and spastically wiggling around and gyrating in all
directions," said Owen. "It just made me sick."

Owen pointed out there are more than 100 injection sites in 50 cities
in Europe and Australia. Insite is the only one in North America.
Owen has visited several of the international sites and was told by
politicians and doctors that the facilities curb drug addiction.

He said some people fail to recognize that injection sites are a
small component of the Four Pillars drug strategy. He said the goal
of the strategy has always been getting addicts to abstinence.

Looking back to when the Liberals were in power in Ottawa, Owen said
Victoria and Montreal should have used that moment to aggressively
pursue injection sites for their cities.

"It's a shame. If Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe and their police chief,
Paul Battershill, had opened one when they started talking about it
five years ago, when the Liberals were in, we could have one in
Victoria, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa."

Added Owen: "I travel around and work hard and I'm just totally
frustrated and really upset about the fact that none of these other
facilities have opened. If they had, we wouldn't even have to be
discussing this."

Sullivan is focused on a proposal to treat 1,000 addicted criminals
with legal drugs prescribed by doctors. The proposal needs approval
from Health Canada.

Owen said the program has merit in theory. But there are still
questions about funding, finding enough doctors to prescribe
medication and ensuring the addicts show up to receive medication.

"It's going to be a difficult ride and it's going to take time."

Insite's operating agreement with the federal government expires in
December. Sullivan has said he will ask that it be extended for at
least another two years.