DON'T BE A DOPE, STUDENTS TOLD

Ross Mervyn Delivers Chilling Anti-Drug Message, Including Perils Of
Being Caught South of 49th Parallel

SAULT STE MARIE - Ross Mervyn doesn't mince words when discussing the
fate that could await those who dabble in illegal drugs.

"How many people do I really reach with my warnings about the dangers
of drug use, I can't give a number," Mervyn said in a recent
interview. "But for every individual who might see the dangers that
confront them, then I have done my job -- giving kids and adults the
real lowdown on illegal drug use."

Mervyn, who spent his working career at Mannesman Tube, and was a
well-known Sault Ste. Marie athlete, became widely recognized far
outside the city's borders when he took up marathon running
competitively. He spends his retirement travelling to towns, cities,
prisons, companies and schools, giving the lowdown on what is to be
expected when caught in the downward spiral of illegal drug use.

Mervyn's campaign, dubbed Do Your Own Time, has taken him to Alberta,
Saskatchewan, and First Nations reserves as far north as Hudson Bay.
He also speaks to large businesses across Canada.

"I guess I gained a little bit of a reputation as a marathon runner,"
says Mervyn, "especially after taking place in some well-known runs,
mainly the Boston Marathon."

It was via this network that he received a call to put on a running
clinic at Kinross Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Michigan.

Mervyn took up the offer, and the program he started there took off
and continues to play a part in prison life to this day. Mervyn also
brings people into the prison to instruct the 7,000 prisoners who
occupy four different complexes.

Volunteers have included soccer player Manny Hellstern and power
lifter Karl Hult, as well as local cross-country skiers and Soo
Greyhound and Soo Thunderbird players.

"They have shown the prisoners the ins and outs of their sports, and
the prisoners put it to use to help pass their time of day, the
majority of them who will be residing in the maximum security facility
until they die," Mervyn said.

Mervyn recently spoke to senior students at St. Joseph Island Central
School.

"Whether they believe it and take it to heart is up to the
individual," he added.

"But I am just telling them what's going on out in the real world, and
if they just pass it off as, 'It doesn't affect me,' then they could
be in for a hell on earth."

First, Mervyn shows videos of convicted drug dealers telling their
stories, and if that is not scary enough, he then outlines what
students could face if they were to challenge laws outside of Ontario
- -- especially south of the border.

He related how Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act, which emphasizes
the rehabilitation and re-entry of a young offender into society, is
not universal.

"Well, let me tell you people, should you go to the United States and
think you can get away with what you do in Canada, you could well end
up serving a jail sentence of life without chance of parole," Mervyn
said.

Currently, he knows of 10 Canadians "who are never coming
home."

"Different U.S. states have different laws, but I can tell you about
Michigan, and it isn't pretty," Mervyn said.

"If you think you can lead a normal life while using illegal drugs,
you are stupid. It will always catch up to you. Choose your friends
carefully, and have a role model to look up to."

One taped interview students saw depicted a man telling how he, one
morning, started drinking and smoking marijuana, and wound up killing
two people in a car accident.

"And he is now in jail until they carry him out in a coffin," Mervyn
said.

"You young kids who might go to Sault, Michigan to play in a hockey
game, and perhaps get caught smoking a joint, don't expect a soft
lecture from a Canadian judge. ... You are headed for jail.

"And some of you people might someday go on the spring break holiday
to the U.S. and stupidly try illegal drugs, and get caught. Then you
are going to jail, not getting a warning from a Canadian judge."

Mervyn said, in Canada, marijuana doesn't get too much bad
press.

"But get caught with 650 grams of it in Michigan and you will be
sentenced to a life jail term with no chance of parole," he added.

Mervyn tells his audiences about life in the Michigan prison system,
should they be "stupid" enough to end up there.

Prisoners are often sexually abused, there's a vibrant drug trade and
no shortage of weapons.

"Women have been caught smuggling dope into prisons in their bras and
underpants, and when caught, they can expect to join the prison
populace," Mervyn said.

"Should you be beat up in prison, and are lying in a pool of blood,
don't expect any sympathy. Nobody cares, and the saying is that some
judges might have some sympathy for you, but the cops don't.

"Just remember, when you cross the St. Mary's River, you are in a
different environment if you are going to try the drug scene."

Short jail terms in Canada for illegal drug use don't reflect those in
the U.S., where long terms, and possible life sentences without chance
of parole, are the rule, not the exception.

Mervyn's program says he doesn't profit financially from his
efforts.

"If I get my expenses covered, I am happy," he said.

He always leaves his audience with a short warning: "Don't wreck your
life with drugs and booze. You are sadly mistaken if you think you can
lead a normal life when on drugs, and I can arrange a visit to people
serving life without parole who thought like that."