SWISS MAY LEGALIZE CANNABIS

BERN Switzerland has taken a major step towards legalizing the consumption
of cannabis with the government proposing a draft law in Parliament to
decriminalize the drug.

The proposal to overhaul Switzerland's drugs law, unveiled last Friday,
could also allow the sale of cannabis under certain conditions.

Ruth Dreifuss, the Swiss minister for social affairs, told journalists that
outlawing cannabis completely had not brought the desired results.
Addictive substances other than cannabis - such as heroin, cocaine and
ecstasy - will remain illegal, but violators will not necessarily face
prosecution.