When it comes to drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers, peer pressure and experimentation frequently are cited as contributors. But according to one expert, a look at adolescent brains shows why teens are particularly affected by drug and alcohol use.

To speak more about what’s going on in teenagers’ heads — and how it affects things like substance addiction — Dr. Traci L. Brooks is coming to the Vineyard next week for three presentations about “The Adolescent Brain” and changes that occur as the brain matures.

The beef additive known as pink slime is off the menu at all Vineyard public schools.

Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said this week that as of two weeks ago all the meat in question has been put aside. “We are not using it in any student lunches across the Island, anywhere,” he said.

The absence of fast food on the Island rankles some but it may also mean we are healthier. Vineyard residents rank as the healthiest in the state, according to a survey released Tuesday by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Nantucket ranks second, the report found.

With prescription drug addiction on the rise both nationwide and on Martha’s Vineyard, a well-attended forum about the issue this week focused on how the community can better fight the growing problem.

About 50 people gathered at the high school Wednesday to hear from a panel of community members and addiction experts, and to participate in a discussion about how Vineyarders can get help for prescription drug addiction.

The Workout and Vineyard Tennis Center is hosting its annual Alexandra M. Gagnon’s seventh grade girls’ day event on Saturday, March 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event is a gift to seventh grade girls in that it opens the club up to both pamper and educate. Girls can experience a day of cardio workouts, cooking, skin care and massage, all free of charge. The idea is to provide both a relaxing day and one that empowers girls to find ways to be healthy.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness will offer a series of 12 weekly classes, starting April 11, for families of people diagnosed with serious mental illnesses.

Classes will examine the symptoms of schizophrenia, bipolar disease, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders, as well as offer coping skills, basic information about medications, listening and communication techniques, problem solving, recovery and rehabilitation and self-care.