Crusader hits shops

Press, 22 May 1978, Page 15

Crusader hits shops

Ray Comfort, the Christ-

itirch businessman and anti-

drug crusader took bookshops to task on the “Access” programme yesterday.

Mr Comfort is the author of an anti-drug book, “My Friends Are Dying.” He has become well known in Christchurch for his outspoken, one-man campaign against the use of narcotics, particularly heroin. In the programme, he talked about why young people are likely to turn to drugs, and what the community should be doing to stop them. He showed viewers what marijuana looks like, what a “joint” is, and said that schools should teach their pupils more about drugs. He also discussed the destructive nature of alcohol, describing it as a dangerous drug, and demanded a change in the social attitudes that now favour alcohol.

“Alcohol does terrible things to the vital organs of our bodies,” he said. He went On to illustrate what some

of these disastrous effects could be if we drank too much. He criticised retailers and big department stores for selling posters proclaiming that “Beer drinkers make beter lovers” and “Booze is the only answer,” when these statements were wrong. He also criticised booksellers for displaying books describing

in detail how to grow, prepare, and use hard drugs, 1 and he spoke of the I anomalies of a bureaucracy I that refused to let one rock musician into New Zealand because he had a marijuana conviction 14 years ago while welcoming another, even though his songs and his stage act were full of praise for heroin.