Parents encouraged to visit teen bedroom display with hidden drugs and paraphernalia

It looks like a normal teenager’s room, but there are hidden items that every parent should be aware of: A can of hairspray by the mirror, a red trash can by the desk, an extension cord plugged into the wall and a teddy bear wearing a tie-dye shirt on the bed.

Unscrew the bottom of the can, and you’ll discover pills. Unfold the tinfoil in the trash, you’ll find black tar heroin. Open up the extension cord, you’ll see a “dab” rig – a kit to use marijuana. And the teddy bear? It’s got marijuana stuffed into its back.

Experts stashed all these items – and more – inside a mock teen bedroom to illustrate how easily teens can buy products online to hide their drug addiction. Parents are invited to tour the mock bedroom and see the often obscure signs of teen drug use up close.

The display, “Hidden in Plain Sight”, will be in the health room (2126) during Parent’s Night on Thursday, Nov. 16th. Health Teacher Roxanne Grover will lead a presentation from 5 to 6 p.m., the hour before parent-teacher conferences begin at 6 p.m. The display will be open until 8 p.m. and parents are welcome to view it until that time.

Designed by A Program of Youth Health Connections, South Shore FACTS Coalition, the room is meant to open parents’ eyes about what could be happening with their teens and spark honest conversations between them. Talking with teenagers about their disapproval of substance use is the most reliable way for parents to reduce the risk their sons and daughters will suffer from drug use and addiction, said Barbara J. Green, Ph.D., medical director for Youth Health Connections.

The program is paid for with a grant from the Above the Influence program. The grant also paid for a visit by Public Speaker Chuck Rosa, a Seabrook, NH father who lost two sons to drug overdoses. He met with students last month and talked with them about tragedies caused by alcohol and drug use.