KICKING DRUGS KEY TO BETTER LIFE

The first car he stole was a '94 Jaguar worth $88,000.
Fifteen-year-old Andrew Pigott was barely tall enough to look over the
car dash as he grasped the steering wheel. But his enthusiasm for
driving the stolen car quickly cooled when a police officer pulled up
beside him.

It was the end of his joy ride, but not the end of his stealing.

He was just a young fool - he admits that now.

Pigott used to smoke pot and steal cars because the chase triggered an
adrenalin rush that excited the bored and rebellious teenager. He
started experimenting with more drugs and before he knew it, he was
hooked on heroin.

Meanwhile, the stealing hobby progressed to a criminal career to pay
for his crippling drug addiction.

Now that Pigott is 24, he understands from his own hard knocks what he
should have learned after his first brush with the law. A litany of
criminal activities landed the amiable young man in a federal prison
on King Road, where he rubs shoulders with murderers and sex offenders.

He admits there was no logical reason for him to get into drugs or to
steal.

Pigott grew up in an upper-class home in Delta, with good parents.

"If anything, they probably spoiled me," he said, adding that the
parental support started fading as he continued to use more drugs,
steal cars, break into houses and fence stolen property.

"They realized I wasn't listening to them, so they let me go my own
way."

At 20, he served his first federal sentence in medium security Matsqui
Institution.

Nothing changed internally for Pigott, and when he was released he
continued where he left off by embarking on another stealing spree. On
Halloween, 2003, he began serving time for his second federal stint,
this time in the Regional Treatment Centre-Pacific Institution, a
multi-level prison beside Matsqui Institution.

Pigott has been taking a good, long look around him and comparing
himself to the older cons. He's figuring out who he doesn't want to be
in the future.

"I looked around and I asked myself, 'Where do I want to be 10 years
from now?'" he said.

"I'm around the worst of the worst and I realize that my life is about
making choices. You've got to learn from your mistakes and learn from
your past. I'm young enough that I have the opportunity to change."

He said he is going clean.

Pigott is taking the high-intensity substance abuse program at the
prison and he's staying focused on creating new goals for his future.

He's determined to make the right choices and to believe in himself.
He also looks up to some of the older and sober offenders and listens
to their advice.

Pigott said the substance abuse program is an eye-opener, helping him
to understand his addiction and to identify potential circumstances
when he may be at risk to relapse.

The program, for example, uses the analogy of a green, orange and red
light system to help the offenders to identify when they're in danger
of taking drugs again.

It works for Pigott.

For example, Pigott said that when he is released from jail, he won't
go to Whalley, because that's his red zone. He's also cautious about
peer pressure, depression and boredom.

The high-intensity substance abuse program turned on the lights for
Pigott, and he said it is helping other guys to change as well.

"The last thing I want to do is get wired on drugs," he said. "I'm
going to have nothing to do with dope, because if I get back into a
crime cycle again, there will be only two possible endings: That's
death or jail."

He's counting the days to freedom.

Meanwhile, Pigott is pumped about sports, so he stays busy playing
tennis and badminton and working out in the gym. He arranges baseball
games for the other offenders and tries to stay occupied surrounding
himself with positive peers.

He graduates from the specialized drug abuse program on Aug. 27. He
shared his story publicly because he hopes people will discard their
stereotypes of prisoners.

"Give a guy a chance. That's all we ask."