Seen At 11: Your Teen Could Be Hiding Illegal Drugs In Plain Sight
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The scary truth about teenagers might be what you don't see.
As CBS2's Maurice Dubois reported, rugs are a constant and growing problem in the city and the suburbs, and all to often teenagers are hiding them in plain sight.
"I've hid it from people that should have known," Nick said.
"I used to smoke codeine as well as drink it," Brady added.
A group of recovering addicts said they've hidden all types of drugs in places you might never imagine.
"In my room I found that you could unscrew a vent plate, take it off, and hide things in there," Benjamin said.
They've even stashed drugs behind light switches.
"Oh yeah, absolutely, you can take the plate off and there is space behind it," Nick said.
Marijuana is more difficult to hide. It's bulkier, and has a distinctive odor, but users still find ways to conceal it.
"I had a student tell me he put his marijuana in a protein shake," drug counselor Carrie Stevens explained.
Stevens has found a number of disguises hidden in the open in young people's rooms.
"It looks like lipstick, but it's actually a one-hit pipe," she said, "It looks like a highlighter, but if you open this part of it, it's a pipe. Look at some of these cans that are false bottom or can open up, same with these dog food cans."
Stevens said to be on the lookout for hollowed out pens, check inside books, even Monopoly games have been used as hiding places.
"There are a lot of little crevices within these board games," Nick said.
Experts said parents need to be educated as to what the drugs actually look like. Ecstasy could easily be mistaken for candy.
"Most recently we found this inside of a usable ink pen in a child's bedroom. You had to disassemble the ink pen to find it," Sergeant Courtney Pero explained.
Police said it's up to parents to stay vigilant and even be detectives in their own home.
"I do this for a living and many things surprise me," Pero said.
Experts stressed looking for changes in a child's behavior, a drop in grades, and new friends.