It is argued that language has the capacity to reveal "plans of action" that involve potential adolescent and preadolescent drug use. Based on an analysis of interviews with teenagers (N = 59), language is seen as a viable indicator of at risk individuals. It is recommended that the metaphors and themes found in the language of low- and/or medium-risk individuals be incorporated into drug prevention messages designed for young children and preadolescents. If the low-risk metaphors and themes can be instantiated in the language of the target audience, then perhaps, as language precedes attitudes and action, their plan of action will be one of drug avoidance and refusal rather than usage. (Copyright 1994, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.) (LLBA 1994, vol. 28, n. 1)