Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Contact: http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/userguide/letform.html Website: http://www.startribune.com Pubdate: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 Copyright: 1998 Star Tribune Author: Associated Press VOTERS IN SWITZERLAND REJECT MEASURE TO LEGALIZE DRUGS GENEVA -- Swiss voters on Sunday decisively defeated a measure to legalize marijuana as well as heroin and cocaine, apparently heeding government warnings that the proposed law would turn the nation into a drug haven. With all ballots counted, 74 percent voted against and 26 percent for a constitutional amendment that would make legal "the consumption, cultivation or possession of drugs, and their acquisition for personal use." Last year, the Swiss were the first in the world to vote overwhelmingly in favor of state distribution of heroin to hard-core addicts. "The outcome shows that the Swiss population rejects extreme solutions to the drug problem," said Felix Gutwiller, a pioneer of the heroin distribution program. The government opposed the plan, saying it was a health risk and would turn Switzerland into a haven for drug tourists and traffickers. It said the current policy of helping hard-core addicts while clamping down on dealers was best. Church groups, police chiefs, social workers, doctors and other professionals working with addicts held similar views. No other European nation has legalized the possession or sale of drugs or has plans to do so. In the Netherlands, such soft drugs as marijuana are decriminalized, and Dutch authorities don't prosecute people who sell or use small amounts. The prolegalization lobby -- a loose left-wing coalition that gathered the necessary 100,000 signatures to force a referendum -- claimed it would stamp out trafficking and the black market. Francois Reusser, from the prolegalization lobby, blamed the scale of the defeat on the fact that the proposed law included both hard and soft drugs. Given Switzerland's pioneering role on drug issues, the vote was watched closely in other countries. "When 26 percent of voters support controlled legalization of drugs, it does suggest some crumbling in what is claimed to be global consensus on the war on drugs," said Ethan Nadelmann, director of the New York-based Lindesmith Center Drug Policy Unit, which favors more relaxed laws. - --- Checked-by: Don Beck