Pubdate: Wed, 17 Aug 2005
Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Vancouver Courier
Contact:  http://www.vancourier.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474
Author: Naoibh O'Connor, Staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?131 (Heroin Maintenance)

OWEN OFF TO AFGHANISTAN

When former mayor Philip Owen was pushing drug policy reform in this city, 
he likely never thought he'd need kidnapping and ransom insurance to spread 
the message across the globe.

But three years after leaving municipal politics, Owen and wife Brita are 
preparing for a trip to Afghanistan where he's been invited to participate 
in the Kabul International Symposium on Global Drug Policy in late 
September. It's organized by the Senlis Council, a European-based drug 
policy think tank formed in 2002.

Foreign Affairs Canada advises against all travel to Afghanistan, 
describing the threat to Canadians as high. The department's travel report 
indicates "the security situation remains extremely volatile and 
unpredictable," and cites a number of attacks against the United Nations 
and other non-governmental organizations, including the murder of three 
people in a suicide bombing of an Internet cafe and kidnapping attempts in 
Kabul in May 2005, as well as the murder of a British citizen and the 
destruction of a Canadian embassy vehicle by a bomb in Kabul in March of 
this year.

Owen, however, is determined to share Vancouver's experience with its 
approach to drug enforcement, including information about the supervised 
injection site and prescribed heroin trials.

"I'm so enthusiastic about Vancouver's Framework for Action four-pillars 
approach. What we've done here is just on the cutting edge and Vancouver is 
recognized as a leading city in the world in just a few years," he said. 
"We've been very successful and nobody's got a better way of approaching 
this problem."

Security is a concern. Owen was told foreigners must be careful, although 
Kabul is seen as the safest part of the country. He's also talked to 
individuals, who either live in Kabul or have relatives there, about safety.

Owen and his wife will fly from Dubai to Kabul in a United Nations plane 
that makes the trip four times a week. The couple, who are trying to 
finalize kidnap, ransom and evacuation insurance coverage, will be met by 
security officers hired by the Senlis Council.

"It's a little unnerving," he conceded Monday. "But that's just the way 
this part of the world operates. I guess we're going because it's 
fascinating to hear about this [subject]. This is a new international trend 
that's going on and it's very significant."

Special shots, vaccines and a visa are required to travel to Afghanistan 
and Owen has $5 million in health insurance from Lloyd's, which he's 
actually had for years. He's comfortable with the security measures being 
taken.

"I mean you don't go out and shop in Kabul [alone]... Apparently, if you 
feel confined to the university or hotel or wherever you are, they may 
drive you to a shop, but you're in and out for 10 or 15 minutes. You keep 
moving around."

At the conference, Owen is scheduled to appear on a panel and will moderate 
a workshop. Other Canadian participants include Dr. Benedikt Fischer from 
the University of Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and 
Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin, chair of an upper chamber committee which 
recommended three years ago that marijuana be legalized and that substance 
abuse problems be considered a public health problem rather than a criminal 
matter.

A project being highlighted at the conference is a feasibility study on 
opium licensing in Afghanistan for production of morphine and other 
essential medicines. Results of the study will be announced at the symposium.

The country's illicit opium industry, controlled by warlords and criminals, 
has grown dramatically over the past few years. Supporters of the study 
believe licensing opium production will benefit both the government and 
farmers. "The downside is the warlords in Afghanistan aren't going to like 
this very much, but if you get the academics, the thinkers, the 
universities and the central government supporting this, with the farmers 
being a part of a market product, then you're going to solve all sorts of 
problems," Owen said.

Owen spends much of his time attending conferences focused on drug policy 
reform in this country and abroad.

"I didn't expect to be this busy [after leaving office]. I've been doing it 
on my own and it's pretty expensive doing this because I'm not funded by 
the government, but they know what I'm doing," he said. "More and more 
countries are coming into the fold to say prohibition doesn't work. Reform 
is the only way to go."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom