Pubdate: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press SWISS COURT DOWNGRADES ECSTASY DRUG LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Switzerland's supreme court ruled Tuesday that dealing in the drug Ecstasy is not a serious crime. The tribunal overturned a one-year prison sentence given by state court in Bern to a man convicted of selling 1,000 tablets of the hallucinogen. The court also rejected a plea from the state of Aargau for a stiffer sentence against a man sentenced to nine months in jail for selling more than 1,300 tablets of the drug. While Ecstasy ``is in no way a harmless substance,'' there is no evidence it poses a serious health risk, the Federal Tribunal said. The drug is mostly used by ``socially integrated people'' and doesn't generally lead to criminal behavior, said the court, which categorized Ecstasy as a ``soft'' drug. Under Swiss law, serious drugs offenses -- including heroin and cocaine dealing -- carry jail sentences as long as 20 years. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck