Remember the mother in the film Almost Famous dropping her son of at a rock concert? As he walks in the crowd she spontaneously yells, “Don't do drugs!” around him, hundreds of teens burst out laughing. Parents must find a way to send the same message in a strong and effective but quieter way.

Illegal Drugs

As with every other risky behavior, Hollywood does not provide great role models. The media glamorizes drugs like marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy, and others. Your job is to cut to the reality that drug use is illegal, at any age. Your first job is getting to know what drugs are out there.

This topic can be frightening to parents who do not understand what “today's designer drugs” are. Understanding them should not put you at ease, but rather help you have confidence in your vigilance and help you to keep them out of your daughter's life. So what are they? The new wave of club and designer drugs, such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol, MDMA/Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride), and LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), is making the rounds at high school gatherings and college campuses. These drugs are cheaper than cocaine and heroin, and they're relatively easy to obtain, many cooked up right in a kitchen. Most are odorless and tasteless, leaving no telltale evidence for you to detect. They can be addictive, and when mixed with alcohol, they can be deadly. Learn this information and share it with your daughter. However, the “tried and true” drugs still seem to lead. More teenage girls use marijuana than cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, and all other illicit drugs combined, according to a U.S. government study done in 2004. And you, despite your past, may not even recognize it.

“Legal” Drugs

Every day, on every television station, your daughter is assaulted with advertisements about over-the-counter and prescription drugs that will “make you feel better.” The message is simple and dangerous: Take a pill and feel good. Today's teens are turning more and more to over-the-counter and in-the-medicine-cabinet prescription drugs for highs. Cough syrups, both prescription (codeine) and over-the-counter (dextromethorphan)are often a starter drug for girls (there are even Web sites your daughter can log onto with calculators to help her figure out the dose she needs to “get high” based on her body weight!). Be wary of the example you set. Do you reach for a medication every time you have a tiny ache or cough? And be careful of what you keep in your house. There's nothing wrong with a locked drawer for such items, meaning your child would have to ask you for medication at all times.

Steroids and Girls?

You've got it, “'roids” are no longer just a boy's choice. A national study published in the April 2005 issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that up to 5 percent of girls now use steroids. They do it for a number of reasons: to improve athletic ability, to enhance their body (via body sculpting), and to become “stronger.” Girls can find them on the street. The danger is real. Not only do girls who use steroids tend toward other reckless behavior such as sex, drinking, and smoking, but as most now know, steroids can create rage and suicidal tendencies. Steroids are no longer something parents of girls can check off the list of “not possible.”