On Friday, March 11, the freshman and sophomore classes were ready to go to second period. Soon though, we were told to meet at the PKS room for an assembly on drugs.
     We have all been to the “Don’t Do Drugs” lectures and the students didn’t seem too thrilled to have another one.
    Music played as we walked into the assembly.  The presenter came on stage and told us his name was John Morello.  He talked about Abington for a couple of minutes.
    With a few jokes at our mascot’s expense (No, there’s no drug problem here, our mascot is weed!) and many laughs from the students, we realized that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary drug presentation.
    Morello didn’t lecture, didn’t preach, and he knew exactly what the kids wanted to hear. He presented us with the dangers of drugs through the humor of his one man show. There were multiple characters represented by this one man.
    Morello played each character so well that it was like watching a different person step onto the stage every time he changed his jackets, which were the only props he used.
     The skit of “Dirt” was about one boy, Jason, who did drugs. His actions affected other people’s lives. Jason stood up for the girl who was always picked on by the popular girls.
    Morello then changed his jacket and showed the conversation from the girl’s perspective. The show ended with a tear jerking story from Jason’s grandfather. The way the grandfather spoke about his life, grandkid, and his time in World War II had many people, myself included, crying. The show went beyond telling you what could happen to your own body, it showed how the decisions people make affect others around them.
    After the show, Morello opened up about some of the things that let him to write a show for high school students about drugs. Morello’s childhood was filled with substance abuse. He admitted to doing drugs when he was a teen, and he had a brother who was an abuser who went to rehab. After a while of being clean, Morello’s brother relapsed and lost his life to an overdose. 
    Morello’s play was more than just a lecture; it opened the students’ eyes about how serious drugs are. Freshman Nichole Kulikowski said about the show, “We are all used to people coming and telling us drugs are bad and giving us numbers and statistics. For the first time we got the reality of it all, from someone who has experienced it. These are the types of programs we need.” 
    If you want to learn more about John Morello or his show look on his website www.johnmorello.com.