PARENTS PROTEST SWISS CANNABIS DECRIMINALIZATION

ZURICH (Reuters) - Angry parents protested outside the Swiss
parliament on Monday over government plans to decriminalize cannabis
- - a step they say would make Switzerland a Mecca for dope smokers.

The demonstration organized by the Swiss Association of Parents
against Drugs was timed to pre-empt a debate in the lower house on
Thursday on relaxing the laws on cannabis use. Parliament's upper
house has already approved the proposals.

Despite Switzerland's staid reputation, it is not unusual to see
people smoking joints in parks, clubs or on ski lifts. The government
has proposed a Dutch-style decriminalization to bring laws in line
with the widespread social acceptance of the drug.

The laws would tolerate a certain number of registered cannabis
outlets. At the moment so-called "hemp shops," where cannabis
masquerades as herbal tea or pot-pourri, constantly run the risk of
being closed by the police.

But memories are still fresh in Switzerland of a liberal heroin policy
in the 1990s which led to the nightmare of "Needle Park" in central
Zurich, prompting concern that a Dutch-style acceptance of the
narcotic could encourage use of harder drugs.

"With this event, the demonstrators want to show members of parliament
and also the general public that these suggestions are ill-conceived
and unacceptable," the association said. "Switzerland would become a
European drugs Mecca."

With an estimated 500,000 regular or occasional cannabis users in a
nation of 7.3 million, the government says it is time for the law to
reflect reality.

While growing and dealing would remain illegal, they would be
tolerated under certain conditions.

"For example, if it is not sold to minors and there is no advertising,
then the grower or the vendor will not be pursued either by the police
or by the courts," said Maria Saraceni of the Health Ministry's
addiction and AIDS department.

If the lower house follows the upper house in approving the plans, any
differences in the legislation will have to be worked out. Opponents
could also try to force a binding referendum on the measure before it
becomes law.

Question marks remain over how the government would control
consumption and production. One proposal is for an anonymous
registration system for cannabis users living in Switzerland who could
then buy a certain amount of the drug a month.

There would also be a system to trace growers and dealers.

However, opponents say the proposals will only encourage youngsters to
take drugs and could make the problem of the black market worse,
especially if plans to levy a tax on production and purchase were adopted.