Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Swiss voters rejected a proposal to legalize cannabis use in the Alpine nation, state-owned DRS radio reported.

Sixty-four percent of voters opposed loosening laws on marijuana, Europe’s most widely used illicit drug, in a referendum today, DRS said on its Web site, citing results in 22 out of 26 cantons. Thirty-six percent voted in favor of the measure. Voter turnout was 46 percent.

The so-called “Hemp Initiative” would have freed the Swiss to use and grow cannabis for their own use, putting the country on a par with the Netherlands, which has the most liberal drug laws in Europe. Switzerland’s ruling coalition parties were split over the plan, with opponents including the dominant Swiss People’s Party fearing such a law would spark cannabis tourism.

“I’m very happy” about the outcome, Andrea Geissbuehler, a People’s Party lawmaker in the lower house of parliament, said in a telephone interview. “It would have been a bad sign to youth. Cannabis is a drug and clearly health damaging.”

Backed by the Free Democrats and the Social Democrats, two of the ruling parties, the initiative’s supporters handed out free copies of the “Hemp Journal” on the streets of Zurich and Bern. Opponents countered with a newspaper campaign featuring a syringe, a joint and a call for voters to keep their “hands off” drugs.

The initiative would have needed approval from both a majority of voters and a majority of cantons to become law. So far, none of the regions have voted in favor of the measure. Results from the canton of Zurich, Switzerland’s most populous, were still outstanding.

Imported Plants

The result will be bad news for dope smokers like Cornelia, a 29-year-old Zurich student, who asked that her family name not be disclosed for fear of legal repercussions.

“Sometimes I end up buying it in parks,” said Cornelia. “That’s where you meet the drug mafia where you could buy anything. I’d rather buy it somewhere with a quality check.”

Under the draft law, the commercial production and sale of marijuana would have been tolerated under strict regulations. Stores would have been banned from selling cannabis to people under 18 and parliament would have had a say in limiting the strength of imported marijuana plants.

Some 44 percent of Swiss aged 13 to 29 have smoked marijuana at least once, according to Swiss Health Ministry figures. Nine percent said they smoke the drug almost daily.

Heroin Referendum Approved

In all, 31 percent of people living in the European Union and aged between 15 and 34 have used cannabis, according to the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Switzerland, which is outside the European Union, wasn’t included in the study.

Swiss today are voted on a government proposal allowing authorities to continue handing out heroin to long-term addicts over 18 years and providing free treatment. The possession and sale of hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, would remain illegal.

Sixty-seven percent of voters so far back the government’s heroin program with 33 percent of Swiss against the measure, DRS radio said on its Web site. A nationwide result will be published around 6 p.m. Swiss time.

“In these situations, the Swiss tend to favor the less radical proposal,” said Lukas Golder, a spokesman at GfS polling institute in Bern. “That seems to be the case here.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Simone Meier in Frankfurt at smeier@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 30, 2008 10:49 EST