NADER, JOHNSON TO PROPOSE STRATEGY FOR DRUG ABUSE

Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader is expected to call today
for a new strategy to combat drug abuse, emphasizing treatment over jail
for nonviolent offenders.

The famous consumer advocate is to be joined by Republican Gov. Gary
Johnson at a news conference in Santa Fe, where Nader will criticize the
federal government's war on drugs "as a colossal failure," the Nader
campaign staff confirmed Thursday.

Johnson has received national attention for calling for the legalization of
marijuana and other drug law changes. He has suggested the billions of
dollars spent on incarceration and law enforcement in the drug war should
instead go toward treatment and education programs to reduce drug use.

Nader declined to say on Thursday whether he agrees with Johnson that
marijuana should be legalized.

"Let's save that for tomorrow," Nader said at a campaign event in Albuquerque.

While in Albuquerque, Nader was scathing in his criticism of the Republican
and Democratic presidential tickets during a more than hour long speech at
the Kiva Auditorium.

He said Texas Gov. George W. Bush's campaign might be unconstitutional
because "George Bush is really a giant corporation running for president of
the United States disguised as a human being."

He noted that the Republican had made $14 million off a "corporate welfare
deal - the Texas Rangers."

"He does understand corporate welfare because he's a corporate welfare
king," Nader said.

He said Democratic nominee Al Gore eight years ago wrote a fine book,
"Earth in the Balance," in which the vice president said the
internal-combustion engine was the biggest threat to the planet. But after
he was elected alongside President Clinton, Gore "caved to auto companies
on emissions and fuel efficiency," Nader said.

"When you hear Al Gore say, 'I'm going to fight for you, I'm going to fight
for the people, they (the Republicans) fight for the powerful,' don't begin
to believe it," Nader said.

He said people should ask politicians just one question: "How are you going
to make me and my friends and co-workers and co-citizens more powerful?"

"Always ask that question and you will see dumbfounded politicians," Nader
said.

To answer critics who say a vote for him is a wasted vote, Nader said, "Why
waste your vote on the two corrupt parties who have wasted our democracy?"

Nader said if 1 million people would support his candidacy with $100 each
and 100 hours of work, his campaign would be on par with the two major parties.

"If you're not turned on to politics, politics will surely turn on you,"
Nader said.

Organizers said about 1,000 people attended the speech.

Earlier Thursday, Nader said "a rigged two-party system" had resulted in
low voter participation.

"Half the people don't vote because they don't think their vote matters or
their vote counts," Nader said.

Nader called for campaign finance reform, which he said was necessary to
free politics from the "stench of dirty money" donated by "big fat cats who
think they can buy our government."

"Our government has been for sale to the highest bidder," Nader said. "They
make obscene profits and pay their corporate officers skyrocketing salaries."

Nader said he supports the abolition of nuclear weapons. Asked about the
impact this might have on New Mexico's national laboratories, which are
major employers in the state, he said the labs should shift their focus to
solar energy.

"There's a lot of great new technologies that can be developed at the
national labs," Nader said. "There's a lot of great talent at our national
labs. ... They could do studies on nutrition and health care. There's no
end to the opportunity."

Nader said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is doing "a good job at trying to
get solar energy expanded at Los Alamos, but I wish he was a bit more
flamboyant on the issue."

Nader this week asked to be included in presidential debates being
negotiated by Gore and Bush.

Nader noted Thursday that the inclusion of third-party candidate Jesse
Ventura in Minnesota gubernatorial debates in 1998 led to a voter turnout
of more than 60 percent and probably helped Ventura win the governorship.

"I want to be included in the debates if only to keep millions of Americans
from falling asleep from watching the drab and the dreary," Nader said.

Nader apparently should not expect much help from the Bush camp. Bush
spokesman Andrew Malcolm said Thursday the Republican candidate "looks
forward to debating Al Gore one-on-one."

"The American people deserve that," Malcolm said.

Gore spokesman Luis Vizcaino said Thursday the Democratic candidate would
abide by the criteria set by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The commission requires candidates to receive support from 15 percent of
eligible voters in a national public opinion poll to participate. Nader and
running mate Winona LaDuke have registered between 2 percent and 6 percent
in polls of likely voters conducted by CNN, USA Today and The Gallup
Organization.

After Nader's Santa Fe news conference, he travels to Farmington to speak
at San Juan College.