DRIBBLING AGAINST DRUGS

Team Izzat Wants Respect

B.C. youth are getting their first taste of alcohol before hitting
puberty and reaching for marijuana and cocaine straight into their
teens, according to Vancouver addictions psychiatrist Dr. Shimi Kang.

Richmond RCMP members want to combat that.

"When they decide whether they're going to smoke marijuana or not,
we're hoping that we'll swing them over to our side," said Cpl. Jet
Sunner, leader of the detachment's Team Izzat, a project consisting of
21 RCMP volunteers and one Vancouver police officer. They interact
with mostly South Asian youth to steer them away from a life of drugs
and violence. Initiatives included a basketball tournament Monday and
the first Team Izzat (meaning respect in Punjabi) Youth Leadership
Awards Dinner Tuesday night, when 10 Grade 12 students received
bursaries of $500 each.

B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said that gangsters don't lead
glamorous lives, riding around in Cadillac SUVs, getting involved in
drugs and carrying guns.

"Some guys think that's cool. Well, we all know that a lot of those
people are ending up dead in ditches and we want to stop that from
happening."