Presenting results of a threeyear study, researchers for the Swiss health
ministry endorsed the medicallysupervised prescription of heroin for junkies
who do not respond to other kinds of therapy.

``In its final report, the research team notes that many patients were able
to improve their health, stabilize their domestic life, and gradually
integrate themselves into the working world,'' it said in a statement.

``Several were able to reduce their debts and make do without handouts. Most
reduced their contact with drug addicts and the drug scene,'' it added.

The study tracked 1,146 people at 18 clinics where they could shoot up
stateprovided heroin. Three hundred and fifty quit the program. Half of
these chose another kind of therapy, and 83 decided to abstain from the drug
entirely.

Thirtysix people died during the study, primarily from AIDS and other
infections. None overdosed on prescribed heroin.

Heroin handouts are anathema to some Swiss conservatives who think the state
has no role as a drug pusher, but the study found they helped cut crime.

``While 70 percent of the participants earned income from illegal and
semilegal activity when entering the program, it was only 10 percent after
18 months,'' it said.

The experiment cost $34.89 per patient per day, but generated an average of
$66 in savings on criminal investigations, jail stays and health care costs.

Switzerland has oscillated between a liberal approach to drugs which once
made Zurich one of Europe's biggest open heroin scenes and a subsequent
crackdown that has driven dealers and addicts underground without solving the
thorny social problem.

10:27 071097