FIGHT AGAINST GANGS, DRUGS CONTINUES

Gang membership will lead to jail, addiction or death. That was the
message of James Coulter's presentations last week to Merritt
Secondary students.

Coulter, a former United Nations gang leader who now works as a drug
and alcohol counsellor in Vancouver's downtown eastside, visited
Merritt to raise awareness about gangs and drugs.

The presentations to MSS students followed a meeting for parents in
October where RCMP officers expressed their growing concern about
organized gang activity and drug trafficking in Merritt.

MSS principal Bill Lawrence said that so far there hasn't been an
active gang presence at the school but that as a community issue it
will eventually impact the school.

"My information from the police is that gang members have been coming
into town to recruit kids to sell their drugs. That's been happening
and so we want to get some information out to them on why that might
not be a good idea," he said.

On Dec. 2 RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore told students that no one is
immune to gangs. "Gangs control the drug trade across Canada. If
you're buying drugs or selling drugs, this could impact you."

At the start of the presentation, only one or two students indicated
having met a gangster, while a majority said they had met a drug
addict.

"It's interesting to watch the kids during the presentation - there
are a lot of open mouths," said Coulter. "To keep a hundred kids quiet
when you're talking is tough, but I seem to have no problem."

Coulter's presentation is effective because he is so blatantly honest
about his experiences and the kids can tell, said Dunsmore.

Throughout his presentation, Coulter showed pictures of his gangster
friends and detailed how almost all of them wound up dead or in jail.
He also spoke of his own involvement in the gang and subsequent road
to addiction.

People join gangs for different reasons but for Coulter the gang
represented the family he'd never had after bouncing between more than
20 foster homes. During his ten years in the gang, he became addicted
to crack cocaine, possibly from the stress, but he admits he wasn't
sober when he first tried it.

Noticing signs of his addiction, Coulter's friends chained him to the
centre beam of a house for three weeks and then kept him under 24-hour
surveillance for months. He admits he still did crack a few times
after that.

Speaking of the dangers of drug use Coulter said, "I've been clean for
four years now, but I'm going to be an addict for the rest of my
life."

Coulter hopes that by giving these presentations, students will be
able to learn from his experiences and avoid making the same mistakes.
And he's finding many of them responding well to him.

"I've had students come up and ask if we can hang out and then they
open up to me. I had a kid last night who I hung out with for two or
three hours. He went to the gym with me and he told me that he did
crack and really wants to quit, and I counselled him for an hour."

Dunsmore was also pleased with the presentations. "I know we're not
going to get rid of drugs completely, but we can educate students and
help them make their own decisions."