Pubdate: 26 Nov 1998 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1998 Associated Press. Author: Geir Moulson, Associated Press Writer SWISS TO VOTE ON DRUG LEGALIZATION GENEVA (AP) Marijuana, cocaine and heroin would all be legal in Switzerland if a referendum to decriminalize drugs passes this Sunday. The government opposes the plan, fearing it would turn the orderly Alpine nation into a haven for drug tourists and traffickers. Also against it are church groups, police chiefs, social workers, doctors and other professionals who work with addicts. But the left-wing coalition that gathered the necessary 100,000 signatures for the referendum claims its passage would kill the street market in drugs. The proposal would insert a clause into the constitution that "the consumption, cultivation or possession of drugs, and their acquisition for personal use, is not punishable." Stefan Wunderlin, a member of the referendum's organizing committee, concedes that objections to legalizing hard drugs will likely mean the proposal is rejected. No other European nation is contemplating such a sweeping move. Even in the liberal Netherlands, all drugs are technically illegal. However, soft drugs such as marijuana are decriminalized and Dutch authorities don't prosecute people who sell or use small amounts. Switzerland has an estimated 30,000 hard drug addicts, one of Europe's highest rates. In contrast to many other countries, the death toll is falling from a peak of 399 in 1994 to 241 last year. An experiment with government-authorized distribution of heroin to long-term addicts began in 1994 and led to a huge cut in crime, misery and death associated with the hard-core scene. In a referendum last year, the traditionally cautious Swiss overwhelmingly voted for the experiment to be put on a permanent legal footing, the world's first, and Parliament approved it last month. Even though the government policy has won praise at home and abroad, it still hasn't stamped out trafficking. Around Geneva's railway station, dealers lurk in the evening shadows in wait for potential clients. Similar scenes occur in other cities. Police say that as soon as one dealer is arrested in the nightly cat-and-mouse game, another moves in to take his place. Seizures of hard drugs have not slackened in the run-up to Sunday's vote. Last month, police carried out their biggest-ever raid on illegal cannabis producers seizing more than 5.8 tons of the plant with a street value between $14.5 million and $21.7 million. Cannabis legalization activists claimed the sweep was politically motivated.