FEARING CHANGE TO USER HAVEN, SWISS REJECT LEGALIZING DRUGS

GENEVA - The Swiss on Sunday voted overwhelmingly against legalizing heroin
and other narcotics, apparently heeding government warnings the proposed law
would turn their pristine Alpine nation into a drug haven. With all ballots
counted, 74 percent voted against a constitutional amendment that would make
legal "the consumption, cultivation or possession of drugs, and their
acquisition for personal use."

In favor were 26 percent, or 454,404 people.

Last year, the Swiss were the first in the world to vote overwhelmingly in
favor of state distribution of heroin to hardened addicts.

"The outcome shows that the Swiss population rejects extreme solutions to
the drug problem," said Felix Gutwiller, a pioneer of the heroin
distribution program.

The government opposed the plan, saying it was a health risk and would turn
Switzerland into a haven for drug tourists and traffickers. It said the
current policy of helping hard-core addicts while clamping down on dealers
was best.

Church groups, police chiefs, social workers, doctors and other
professionals working with addicts held similar views.

No other European nation, not even Netherlands, has legalized the possession
or sale of any drugs or has plans to do so. In Holland, soft drugs such as
marijuana are decriminalized and Dutch authorities don't prosecute people
who sell or use small amounts.

The pro-legalization lobby - a loose left-wing coalition that gathered the
necessary 100,000 signatures to force a referendum - claimed it would stamp
out trafficking and the black market.

Backers hoped that a large turnout in their favor would persuade the
government to relax laws on soft drugs like marijuana.

Checked-by: Don Beck