JAMAL Brown has simple pieces of advice when it comes to drugs.On alcohol: "enjoy it don't abuse it".And on hard drugs: "don't get caught up with it in any way".Few are better qualified to give advice on hard drugs than the Ballarat Miners basketballer.Brown grew up in the street drug culture of the Baltimore in the United States, where he says for many, dealing in crack cocaine and marijuana is an accepted way of life."It's all around you."It's hard to escape."It was this same lifestyle that not only Brown found himself in as a teenager, but which, two years ago, also led to the murder of one of his younger brothers at the age of 23.". . . (shot) twice in the chest," Brown emotionally remembers.Brown can thank his mother for his above average basketball ability and his passion for the game for getting him away from the drug scene as an 18-year-old.Brown says he can still hear the words of his mother telling him to pursue a basketball career when the opportunity arose."My mother said you can't be a legend playing on the street."I can still hear her voice . . . give it a go".He is thankful he did.Now a 29-year-old enjoying living in Australia, he knows his life could so easily have continued down the wrong path in a drug-infested environment fuelled by the desire to escape poverty.There are fewer tougher neighbourhoods in the US than where Brown, his three brothers and two sisters were raised by their mother in Baltimore in the north-east state of Maryland.Brown said he grew up looking up to the drug dealers on the streets."That was all we knew.`They had clothes, jewellery, cars."They were role models."Brown recalls being about 13 years of age when he began hanging around drug dealers. Brown said with teenagers able to make $1500 to $2000 a day, it was not easy to resist when that environment was everywhere you went.He said many youngsters turned their back on school all together."There's no money in school."They drop out and do drugs," he said.Even playing basketball was no escape for Brown, initially.He said street basketball was a big money game in his neighbourhood."Playing comes at a price."You get cash, shoes, clothes to play."The teams are owned by drug dealers and it's all about gambling."As well as playing on the street, Brown played in a competition in a gym with his uncles one night a week.It was there that he got the break he needed _ not only in basketball, but also in life.He said he was spotted by a basketball coach from his school, although it was not until they met that the coach became aware the 17-year-old was a student at his school.Brown said he did not immediately escape the drug scene.It was only when his mother stepped in, urging her son to grab the opportunity he was being given.Brown took the advice and progressed to the Baltimore basketball powerhouse of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, which has produced a number of NBA stars."That's where basketball legends are made."I owe a lot to my mother."Brown said every time he visited his family he learned of another friend either dead or in jail because of drugs."I tell my friends to get a life outside Baltimore."Its a very dangerous place _ even when you're just visiting."Brown, who played with the Geelong Supercats in the South East Australian Basketball League for four seasons before moving to Ballarat this year, said many Australians did not know how lucky they were."They've got it made."Brown, who is planning to become a naturalised Australian, said this was why he sometimes became frustrated when he saw youngsters turning their backs on the opportunities they had to go down a path of alcohol and drug abuse.