FEATURE
The Drug of Choice
I
Times and types of drugs may have changed, but concerns about drug abuse have not
By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Photos by Scott Buschman
MAGES of Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Marilyn Monroe flicker across a computer screen at the front of the classroom. "What do they have in common?" asks Monica
Mallet at Buena Vista Continuation School. The teens, of course, know the answer. They are celebrities who have died from drugs. Mallet is among the growing number of educators
concerned about the effect of substance abuse on teens, specifically prescription drugs and marijuana. "I've worked at schools where students have overdosed," says Mallet, Los Angeles County
Education Association. "Fortunately, they did not die, but it is a wake-up call.
" June/July 2012 www.cta.org 9
