A former heroin addict yesterday called on Bermuda to control its drug problem. He also had a message for crew members: learn how to be leaders and not followers.

Speaking at a forum for men organised by the Bermuda Public Service Union called ?Where Are You Headed? ?, panellist Marvin ?Duke? Woolridge, told how his actions as a young man had consequences he lived to regret.

Mr Woolridge, who is living a successful life today and is employed with the Bermuda Housing Corporation, said the drug trade is destroying the lives of young men with its promises of quick money and a comfortable lifestyle.

Mr Woolridge?s past transgressions have listed him on the stop list and prevented him from travelling to see his son graduate from school this year. ?Other young men need to realise the consequences of their actions,? he said.

Mr. Woolridge said he was a young man who came straight from the streets. His crime-filled lifestyle led him to eventually serve time in prison for attempted murder.

?Between the ages of 18 and 39 I sold drugs, smuggled drugs, engaged in crime,? he said. However, after marrying and starting a family Mr Woolridge turned his life around.

His ?get real message? was greeted with rounds of applause from the audience who listened to presentations from psychologist Dr. Leonard Astwood, Police IT specialist Brent Furbert, and Nelton Brangman of the National Training Board. The forum is one of many held to address the issue of violence among the Island?s young, black male community after machete and knife wielding youths disrupted a football game at Wellington Oval earlier this month. The meeting?s aim was to strengthen ties among the Island?s male community and to come up with answers to the problem.

Various speakers touched on issues such as job opportunities, technical training, and the importance of holding young people responsible for their actions. While education and job opportunities were issues brought up at the meeting, Mr. Woolridge said the drug business allowed young men to support themselves and their families.

?You may ask why don?t they get up at 6.30 a.m. like any other person and go to work ? why, because they can make $3,000-4,000 a day selling drugs??

Mr. Woolridge said some factors influencing the drug trade were young female drug pedlars who were organised by dealers. He called for the prison system to apply consistent treatment across the board and to commit inmates for their full sentence. He also called for a constant Police presence to control drug activity and to target the drug problem by targeting the dealers.

Panellist Denny Richardson said the community needed strategies other than educational programmes to target drug abuse.

?Educational programmes cannot save these people. We have to think for ourselves about how we can save our children, we cannot wait for educational programmes to save them. We have to make our children understand the consequences of their actions and the full effect of their value.?