Three months after their son's death from an accidental drug overdose, Scott and Kathy Anderson say there were signs that Pierce, an affable 16-year-old junior at Bethel Park High School, had run into trouble.

Recognizing the signs --including uncharacteristic moodiness and argumentative behavior -- was the hard part. The Andersons are adamant in hoping other parents can prevent similar tragedy.

Inspired by this, the Bethel Park School District will present a program Wednesday titled "Keep Your Kids Safe -- Educating Parents on the Potential for Drug Use." It is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. at the community center.

The program is an opportunity for Bethel Park parents, students and others to learn why it can be dangerous to assume, "It can't happen to my kid."

"We'll have people from the county health department, the county probation office, county police, Bethel Park police, Gateway Rehabilitation and some former Bethel Park students in recovery there," said Jim Modrak, the district resource officer who helped put the program together.

County Councilman Vince Gastgeb also is a sponsor.

"We are seeing an increased use of marijuana, not just with our kids but throughout the South Hills," Officer Modrak said. "What's going around is a lot more potent, the THC [the active ingredient in marijuana] levels are higher."

Six years ago, Bethel Park dealt with a heroin problem. In the meantime, Officer Modrak said, marijuana use has never really gone away despite warnings from experts that it can be a gateway to more serious drug use.

"I just think the kids don't think it's much of an issue to them," he said.

Denise Nunley, 22, graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2004.

As a 14-year-old, she became addicted to heroin, eventually getting arrested at school and doing time in rehab.

She will speak at next week's program, which she describes as "really good because we don't hold back.

"I just tell them the truth. I think [drug education] is candy-coated for the most part.

"I think [in general, schools] are educating on the wrong topic. The scare tactics just provoke kids to want to try drugs."

Bethel Park's stance on the subject, as a district and a community, has been to address the issues publicly.

"We want to attack it head-on. We want to be upfront and honest," Officer Modrak said. "Our district is no different than Mt. Lebanon, South Park, Upper St. Clair, but every community does something different."

One of the first steps for parents, he said, is to recognize a problem.

The Andersons, who will be at the meeting next week, have two other sons. Grant, who attends Johns Hopkins University, and Austin, a middle school student in the district.

Pierce was angry because his family was holding off on allowing him to take the test for his driver's license. Also, a blowup had occurred over his not going on an out-of-town trip.

He was taking advanced placement and honors classes at school, and his parents assumed the academic stress was showing.

Moodiness in a 16-year-old is hardly red-flag behavior, but there were other signs. Painkillers often lead to constipation, and "he was forever in the bathroom," his mother said.

Three days before his death, he missed his 11 p.m. school-night curfew and when he got home at 1:30 a.m., Mrs. Anderson said, she checked his breath for alcohol.

Although Pierce did not appear intoxicated, the pupils of his eyes "were pinpoints," Mr. Anderson said, which his parents later learned is an indication of heroin use.

Officials and his family speculate that Pierce went from marijuana to possibly snorting heroin in a very short time.

The coroner's report listed cause of death as drug poisoning. Heroin and codeine were found in his system. Needle marks indicate he probably injected heroin only twice in his life.

In retrospect, his parents said, all the signs add up, but they didn't register as a serious problem at the time.

"He was such a great kid. I never got tired of talking to him. He was always challenging me," Mr. Anderson said. "So to go from something to nothing overnight with no real warning ..."

The Andersons had considered the possibility of drug use. In fact, on the day before Pierce died, Mr. Anderson purchased a home drug-testing kit for $40 at a local pharmacy.

"We were going to give it to him that weekend," he said.

"We thought he was doing something, but heroin?" Mrs. Anderson said.

His teachers, friends and family all described Pierce as the sort of kid who collected an eclectic assortment of acquaintances. He'd begun hanging around with an older crowd of which the Andersons did not approve, another warning sign.

"These kids were taking him out and getting my kid high. He's only 16 and they're 18, 21," Mrs. Anderson said.

Pierce was a musician and a poet and a vegetarian for more than a year before his death. He was endlessly curious; when he was in grade school, he ordered escargot at a restaurant just to see how snails tasted.

"He ordered them and never looked back," his father said. If anything, he said, that curiosity might have been what led to his drug use.

One of the goals of next week's program is not only to help parents spot potential drug use but to let them and students know that help is available.

"We can provide guidance and direction," Superintendent Thomas Knight said. "We want kids to also know that it's OK to make good decisions, and that all it takes is one bad decision that can change them for the rest of their lives."