The odds of surviving are not in their favor. Sometimes drug dealers do make more money than they would otherwise. But the choice to join a gang, to use drugs and deal drugs means giving up their freedom and their life. One of the more attractive things about gangs is the loyalty the members all have for each other. They seem to value the other members of their gang more than themselves.
Gangs provide an instant group of best friends.
The bad side of this loyalty is that they can never really have friends outside the gang. They spend all their time with the gang, and must do whatever the gang leader tells them to do. They lose their freedom when they join a gang. In order to join a gang, you have to prove you are worthy by going through a process of initiation. In some gangs, initiation involves committing some kind of crime.