(FOX31/FOX17) -- How far would you go to make sure your child isn't doing drugs?
"You feel like you know your kids and that they wouldn`t be hiding things from you," said Kamee Morwood, a mother of three.
If you`ve ever said to yourself 'My child would never try drugs', that may be true... but what if you`re wrong?
"Kids are doing things parents are not realizing," said Bradley Gagon, with the Arvada, Colorado Police Department.
The National Institutes of Health reports that by senior year, half of high school students will have tried an illegal drug.
Authorities say looking for the signs of drug use is the first step in protecting your child, even if it means invading their privacy.
"If i suspected my kid was in trouble I would do, I would violate all of it," Morwood said.
Police use this mobile bedroom to teach parents how to spot the hidden signs of drug use.
"We hid a glass pipe... which has kind of a white residue in it," Gagon said.
There are eight bags of fake drugs and paraphernalia hidden all over this room... would you be able to spot them?
Officer Bradley Gagon says parents would be surprised at the unbelievable places where cops actually find drugs in kids' rooms like inside the brims of hats, shoes, picture frames or under lamps, beds, etc.
"Cause, I know how many things are around him and he has his cell phone and access to social media," Morwood said.
Our sister station FOX 31 put two parents to the test. having them inspect their kids room. One parent ended up finding a syringe inside a stuffed animal, or a video game case that reveals tin foil with burn marks.
Residue from used drugs was also found on video game cases, inside lamps and light bulbs or even what appeared to be soft drink cans which are actually canisters to store drugs in.
"That's so crazy!," one mom said.
Also hiding in plain sight, another soft drink, cough medicine and candy... mixed by many middle school students to get high.
"What they call the 'purple drank' d.r.a.n.k.," Gagon said.
"It`s just so scary," one mom said. "I think kids are smart but if you`re on top of it you can really find stuff."
Police say it`s common reaction,
"Every parent that has walked through there... pretty much had that same face," Gagon said. "It is shocking," the police officer said. "That`s why we`re doing this, we want to empower parents."
