SWISS VOTERS BLOCK BID TO LEGALIZE NARCOTICS

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss voters Sunday rejected by a thumping three-to-one
margin a sweeping proposal to legalize narcotics that backers said would
eliminate the drugs mafia but critics said would make Switzerland a drugs
haven.

The plan would have made Switzerland the only country in the world where
anyone aged 18 or older could buy narcotics of their choice, from marijuana
to heroin, from state-run outlets or pharmacies after consulting a
physician.

With 22 of 26 cantons (states) reporting, the measure had not carried a
single canton and had garnered the support of only 26.8 percent of votes
counted so far.

The proposal had been widely expected to fail, but the drubbing that voters
administered at the polls disappointed organizers who were hoping a sizeable
minority would support making liberal Swiss drugs policy even more tolerant.

"I am very disappointed. We had expected a much better result," said
Francois Reusser, co-organizer of the committee that collected enough
signatures to trigger the referendum under the Swiss system of direct
democracy.

"We were unable to mobilize a wide range of (drugs) consumers themselves,
the dope-smokers and ravers, or there would have been a different outcome,"
he told Reuters.

He said he hoped government officials would still move to liberalize the
possession and use of soft drugs like marijuana, adding he was ready to
launch a fresh initiative if need be.

"We will keep the pressure on for this, of course," he said.

Thomas Zeltner, director of the Federal Health Bureau in Berne, saw the vote
as popular confirmation of Switzerland's policy of combating the drugs trade
but helping the most severe drug addicts.

But he said Berne was ready to take a fresh look at how to treat soft drugs
like marijuana and hashish.

"We have to continue the discussion about the legalization of cannabis.
There is now such a big gap between the legal regulation of cannabis and
reality that we need to act," he said, adding draft legislation due next
year would address this.

The Swiss government and other opponents had called the initiative an
extreme measure that would fuel addiction and isolate Switzerland from
international police and justice cooperation.

But backers said drugs prohibition had failed to stop the supply, instead
creating a black market with no health standards and high prices that forced
addicts into theft or prostitution to fund their habit.

Launched by a committee of drugs experts, doctors and lawyers, the
referendum proposal was backed by leftist politicians and youth chapters of
two of three conservative parties in the Swiss government center-right
coalition.

Incomplete results from another referendum Sunday's ballot showed voters had
approved spending 30.5 billion Swiss francs ($21.69 billion) to build a
network of tunnels through the Alps.

The project, which would ease rail traffic and help clinch passage of
bilateral economic accords with the European Union, was passing by a nearly
two-to-one margin with results in from 22 of 26 cantons.

Checked-by: Don Beck