SWISS VOTERS TURN DOWN LEGALIZATION OF NARCOTICS

Measure Sought to Cut Drug-Related Crime Through State Control

GENEVA-Swiss voters decisively rejected-on Sunday a radical measure to
legalize marijuana, heroin and cocaine, turning aside arguments that a
government-managed narcotics network would curb drug-related crime.

The proposal would have allowed any Swiss resident over 18 years old to buy
narcotics at state-approved pharmacies after consulting a doctor.

Nearly 74 percent of voters rejected the initiative, which had been
expected to fail, but not to such an overwhelming extent.

''It was a surprise," said Francois Reusser, spokesman for the committee
that launched the initiative "for a sensible drug policy."

"Voters reacted emotionally to the heroin aspect," he said. But Mr.
Reusser'said he hoped lawmakers would still consider liberalizing the use
and possession of cannabis, which federal statistics indicate is regularly
consumed by some 500,000 people in Switzerland.

If some of the marijuana smokers had gone to the polls, Mr. Reusser said,
the outcome might have been different. "It' s too easy to buy cannabis
here, or to smoke it on the road, or people would have voted," he said.

Despite that, he said the committee, backed by Socialists, medical doctors,
lawyers and drug experts, would consider a new campaign to collect the
signatures necessary to force a ballot vote on legalizing cannabis.

Government officials said the vote confirmed Switzerland's policy of
battling against illicit drugs, but also aiding the worst-off addicts
through a program that gives heroin and methadone to a controlled group of
abusers. This nation of 7 million has an estimated 30,000 to 36,000
hard-drug addicts, one of the worst problems in Europe.

Thomas Zeltner, chief of the federal health department, said Bern was ready
to review policies on soft drugs, which include marijuana and hashish. The
government is proposing new laws on drugs to be drawn up next year.

"There's a big gap between the legal regulation of cannabis and reality,"
Mr. Zeltner said. "We need to take some steps." He noted that solutions for
consumption might be different from those for cultivation and sale of
cannabis.

Unlike many other European countries, Swiss authorities pursue and punish
cannabis use, although not too successfully. Marijuana can frequently be
smelled in smoking compartments on trains. And, in the past three years,
some 150 shops have sprung up around Switzerland selling little bags of
dried cannabis leaves with "not for consumption" labels, and daring
authorities to prosecute.

The country's law prohibits the substance only when smoked, which put law
enforcement officials in a quandary. In the last month, they have begun
cracking down on the shops. But the Swiss cannabis dilemma also stems in
part from the fact that hemp has been widely grown, and used for various
products, in the country for decades.

The rejected initiative would have amended the constitution to say: "The
consumption, cultivation or possession of drugs, and their acquisition for
personal use, is not punishable."

The government campaign had warned that the proposal would give unfettered
access to drugs and attract drug tourists looking for easy availab' ility.
Instead of eliminating the black market, it would have created a new
illegal drug trade and severed Switzerland's ties to international police
assistance, Mr. Zeltner said.

Checked-by: derek rea