Alcohol and marijuana are the substances of choice for middle and high school kids in Pinellas County according to the Florida Youth Survey.
Mark Serra's son died at age 28 of a drug overdose. His son's history with drugs dated back to his childhood.
"My wife and I have six kids between us. Unfortunately, we lost one of them," said parent Mark Serra. "We found out later that he started smoking marijuana when he was 13 and we had no idea."
The 2012 Florida Youth Survey shows 23.4 percent of teens admitted to using marijuana at some point in their life, a six percent drop from 2010.
"I’m very concerned that we stay vigilant here in this state,” said Calvina Fay, the Executive Director for Drug Free America.
Fay says those numbers are good but marijuana legalization in some states makes prevention efforts in Florida more important than ever.
"When the perception of harm drops and our young people don't perceive use of drugs to be harmful, use has always gone up," said Fay.
Some argue that legalizing the drug would actually do the opposite and prevent marijuana use.
Jason Sammis represents teens facing marijuana charges.
"Just in talking to them over the years, marijuana is much easier for them to get than alcohol or cigarettes. It's much easier for them to get because there is an underground illegal market for it," said Jason Sammis a criminal defense attorney.
Serra honors his son by talking to kids about the harms of drugs.
"It excites me to the point of wanting to shout and scream because it's the wrong thing to do. It's just the wrong thing to do," said Serra.