I don't think they had higher heroin use or abuse as other countries.
According to this article they were equal to the use of some other countries in the 90's but have since decreased heroin use 86% compared to that baseline.
From studying the needle parks and other Swiss tactics on drug use issues I think they look at the issue along pragmatic and monetary lines.
Addicts cost a lot of money. They feel it is better to spend money to educate non-users of the health risks and to keep current adddicts healthy and functioning in society.
It may be that because of the needle park experiments which drew addicts from all over Europe that they appeared to have or have had a large heroin abuse problem.
Here is a one report with their consensus of the worst drug countries overall.
This article claims Norway was the worst heroin abuse country in Europe, but that was in 2002. Most reports I see now name the UK as the worst in Europe for overall drug problems. Perhaps that is for heroin as well.
“From studying the needle parks and other Swiss tactics on drug use issues I think they look at the issue along pragmatic and monetary lines.”
It’s way past time we started looking at this as a medical issue and not a moral one.
I have relatives who have had problems with substance abuse, and it’s difficult for them to get the help they need as long as it’s handled as some sort of moral failure, i.e., they are told it’s just a lack of self control. Self control is only a part of it, not the whole thing.
Any way that we can keep families together and help these people instead of just throwing them into jails would benefit society tremendously.