ZURICH, Sept 28 (Reuter) Switzerland voted against changing its drug
prevention programme to ban addicts from receiving narcotics on a
controlled basis, according to preliminary referendum results on Sunday
reported by Swiss media.

Roughly 70 percent of voters, according to an early vote count of 11 of
Switzerland's 26 cantons, voted against a change, Swiss television and
radio reported.

Sponsors of the ``Youth Without Drugs'' referendum initiative to change
drug policy included the rightist Swiss People's Party, the Liberal
Democrats and a number of Swiss athletes and former athletes.

The current programme makes hard drugs, including heroin, available to
some addicts to help ease their way back into society. It also offers
some addicts methadone or other substances in an effort to keep them
from buying illegal drugs.

Some addicts may also receive hypodermic syringes. Those in such
programmes are judged not likely to benefit from immediate withdrawal.

Besides the Swiss cabinet, much of parliament had opposed the
referendum, which appeared to have been defeated.

Thomas Zeltner, director of the Swiss Federal Health Agency, commenting
on the preliminary results, said they meant that the Swiss population in
general understood what the programme was about and agreed with it.

``It (the outcome of the votes) means the population does in fact
recognise that the successes of the last years for the drug policy were
important and that we...can continue in this direction, building up the
policy,'' he told Swiss radio.

Switzerland adopted the existing antidrug measures after rampant drug
use in several cities led to rising crime rates and widespread public
consumption in some pedestrian zones.

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