Pubdate: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 Author: Geir Moulson Associated Press Writer US DRUG CZAR REVIEWS SWISS PROGRAM Wednesday, July 15, 1998; 10:16 p.m. EDT ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey praised a Swiss program to register drug abusers, but said Wednesday he is skeptical of a government policy to distribute free heroin to addicts. McCaffrey is visiting Zurich as part of an eight-day tour to examine European drug treatment and prevention programs. He said he was impressed by a ``relocation center'' that takes addicts off the streets for 24 hours to register them, clean them up and, if possible, send them home. ``I personally found it useful to consider the notion that it's part of the 2E.. governmental responsibility,'' he told a news conference. The center is run by Zurich city authorities. But McCaffrey said he was skeptical over a heroin distribution program. ``The jury's out,'' he said. A three-year study last year showed the government's distribution project, which has strongsupport among Swiss voters, had slashed crime and deaths associated with the hard-core drug scene. Although distribution could help cut drug-related crime in the short term, McCaffrey said that ``in the longer term, it will contribute to an inexorable growth in the rate of heroin abuse.'' Earlier in the day, McCaffrey visited a cleaned-up park where drugs were openly used before a crackdown on trafficking was combined with the heroin-distribution program. The retired general played down differences between the United States and Switzerland on treatment of drug addicts. ``To a large extent there is an overlap'' between the two countries' techniques and policies, he said. McCaffrey's European visit has been marked by controversy over his strong criticism of the Dutch policy of allowing citizens to use marijuana and other drugs for therapeutic and recreational purposes. He will travel to the Netherlands on Thursday. McCaffrey has already visited Austria and Sweden and will also make stops in Portugal and England. Copyright 1998 The Associated Press - --- Checked-by: Melodi Cornett