Be a good listener.

Give a clear no use message about drugs and alcohol.

Give advice on how to deal with peer pressure.

Know your child's friends and parents.

Know where your child is and maintain an open and honest dialogue.

According to the popular "Parents: the Anti-drug campaign" between 1991 and 2001, the number of 8th graders who used marijuana doubled from 1 in 10 to 1 in 5.

As a Prevention Resource Officer at Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Charleston, stopping that trend is one of Corporal Monica Spriggs' main goals.

She says parents can recognize a possible drug problem in their teens by looking for warning signs such as moodiness, a change of appetite, withdrawn behavior, or cuts and bruising.

Corporal Spriggs also says parents should remove the expectation of privacy and look through the young person's room, monitor their Myspace or Facebook page, and regularly check their phone records to see who they are talking to.

"If you are not paying attention to your kids, those drug dealers will or those alcoholics or those people that want your child they approach them if they don't get love at home they'll get it anywhere they can and thats sad," Spriggs said.

Corporal Spriggs says the most important thing is for parents to take time listen not just about drugs and other topics but about their child's goals, hopes and dreams.

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