A whole market exists for concealing drugs, including clothing and products. Certain clothing can be a dead giveaway that teens are using.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was provided by the Kosciusko Coalition On Drug Education.)

The drug culture is rapidly adapting, attempting to ensure people don’t get caught. A whole market exists for concealing drugs, including clothing and products. Certain clothing can be a dead giveaway that teens are using. Popular shirts making a statement about drugs are those with Bob Marley’s picture on it. Clothing brands to watch for include:

• “Aperture” brand has “stash spots” inside the sweat bands of some of the company’s hats. Once you bend the beanie back, there’s a little stash compartment on the right side.
• “DGK (Dirty Ghetto Kids) Clothing” is extremely popular among skateboarders and drug users, openly promoting drug usage on some of their brand’s clothing. One picture is of two Styrofoam cups, which indicates cough syrup abuse, usually with the combination of codeine and promethazine. It’s often called “syrup,” “purple,” or “purple drank.”
• “Seedless” and “SRH” produce shorts with sewn in pouches that can be used to hide drugs and other contraband.

Besides in their clothing, the most common places teens hide drugs include:

• Writing Utensils: Pens and highlighters may be concealing pills, pot, or powdered substances. That BIC can serve a double purpose, first to conceal small drugs and also as a straw for snorting drugs.
• Personal Hygiene Items and Makeup: Lipstick tubes, lip balm, deodorant sticks and hair product bottles can be emptied or hollowed out to hide various items.
• Vehicles: Cars are one of the most common places for teens to hide drugs. Teens often tape them behind the dashboard, under the seats, and/or under the hood.
• Bathroom Toilets and Vents: Under the toilet tank lid and in bathroom vents are popular places to hide drugs, since they are easy to remove and replace.
• Candy Containers and Wrappers: Altoid tins and Icebreaker containers are great concealment devices, and easily accessible.
• Belt Buckles: The back can slide off to hide drugs and paraphernalia.
• Posters and Wall Hangings: Teens will flatten drugs and tape them behind posters and picture frames.
• Books: Teens cut out the pages and create a drug safe.
• Mattresses and Toys: Teens cut holes into stuffed animals or mattresses to create a secret compartment.
• Light switches and outlet plates: Just the turn of a couple screws result in an easy stash compartment.

Concealment items that can be purchased on the internet include a flashlight that breaks down into a marijuana pipe, a highlighter that has a pipe hidden inside, fake skateboard wheels, fake soda cans, and even a bracelet that is a wearable way to smoke and store marijuana. If your instincts are telling you that your teen is hiding something, take a closer look at those seemingly innocent items lying around the house.

Open a dialog about drug dangers at an early age and maintain that dialog throughout the teen years. Most teens report the reason they didn’t try drugs was because they knew it would disappoint their parents.