Switzerland declared its novel experiment with statedistributed heroin a
success Thursday, saying the drug giveaway has slashed crime, misery and
disease associated with hardcore drug addiction.

The program the first in the world has attracted the interest of the
World Health Organization, which is evaluating the results, and Dutch
officials, who said they were using it as a model for their own effort.

Presenting the findings of the pilot threeyear program involving 1,146
hardened addicts, health and law enforcement experts said it has saved
taxpayers money and should be continued. But they also stressed that having
doctors inject daily doses of heroin was no substitute for traditional
substance abuse therapies.

``It's not a case of liberalization or legalization, but rather of
complementing existing therapies,'' said Health Ministry director Thomas
Zeltner. Switzerland's program is the first of its kind, he said.

The U.N. drug agency has frowned on the experiment because it runs contrary
to efforts to stamp out illegal drug use. Nevertheless, it approved
Switzerland's request to legally import 440 pounds of heroin from an
undisclosed source for the program.

The experiment also has been criticized by some Swiss, who argue it
encourages addiction. The Association for Youth Without Drugs collected
100,000 signatures to force a national referendum in September on whether to
adopt a more restrictive drug policy.

``Drug addicts should not be used as guinea pigs for tests into new patterns
of drug consumption,'' the group said. ``The only meaningful form of therapy
for addicts is a life completely without drugs.''

Still, law enforcement and health officials point to the program's dramatic
success in reducing crime, disease and early death among heroin addicts.

Switzerland, with an estimated 30,000 addicts, gained notoriety for its
squalid, opendrug scene in Zurich. Police clamped down in February 1995 and
dispersed the junkies.

Most addicts then were offered more traditional withdrawal therapies and
treatment, usually with the heroin substitute methadone, in their home towns.

But some hardcore addicts who had tried, and repeatedly failed, to kick the
habit were enrolled in the heroin distribution program, beginning in early
1994.

They were given daily injectable doses of heroin from doctors at certified
medical centers and one prison. A $10 a day charge for the heroin was waived
for addicts who could not pay it.

More than twothirds of the addicts had been involved in illegal
prostitution, drug trafficking and other criminal activity when they enrolled
in the program. The number dropped to 10 percent, the study showed.

``I know of no other crime prevention program with such a big reduction in
theft and other serious crimes,'' said Martin Killias, of the Institute of
Police Science and Criminology.

The addicts' health also improved. The incidence of infection with the AIDS
virus, hepatitis, and other blood disorders dropped dramatically, and the
number of deaths was cut in half, Dr. Felix Gutzwiller, a doctor in the
program.

Addicts also found it easier to hold onto steady jobs and regular housing,
according to the study. There also were encouraging signs some addicts were
on the way to quitting completely nearly 90 switched to withdrawal
programs.

A New Yorkbased drug policy research think tank, the Lindesmith Center,
hailed the results Thursday, saying the Swiss experiment should be a guide
for programs in other countries, including the United States.

``This report proves that heroin maintenance is a feasible option for cities
trying to reduce the harm associated with heroin addiction,'' said director
Dr. Ethan Nadelmann.

He noted that British doctors have given heroin and other drugs to fight
addiction, but he said the Swiss were the first ever to set up a program in
an experimental fashion that could be evaluated.

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