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In The Car

Even though it’s got windows, even though its left unattended in public, and even though they don’t pay for the insurance, most teens view their cars as a private and secure domain. The car is their ticket to the world. Its a symbol of their maturity and independence. It’s an expression of freedom. A car isn’t just transportation, its a place to hang out. It’s a tour bus, a restaurant, a night club; whatever they decide it should be. Those four wheels bring everything within reach. You can hit five different friend’s houses in twenty minutes. You can cruise down Main Street with the music blasting, or you can park behind a secluded building and disappear from the world.

Kids do everything in their cars, and if they’re abusing drugs, it’s most likely happening in the car. So for you, that means that you’ll have to inspect the thing every once in a while. Here’s what you should look for, and what inferences you draw from it.
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The Keys: Much can be gleaned from the often overlooked key chain. What trinkets have they chosen to include with their car keys? Is there any alcohol branded merchandise on there? Have they attached a bottle opener to their keys? Both of these will need to be addressed. What about pill or powder containers? Oftentimes, these little cylindrical objects are designed (and may even function) like small flashlights. Unscrew the caps and find out. Now inspect each of the keys. Many young addicts use their car keys as quills. You’re looking for any signs of white powder or crystaline residue clinging to the side channels of the keys. Lastly, make sure you have an idea what the keys are for. You’ll want to investigate anything that might be for a storage locker, or perhaps a mobile home. Methamphetamine users oftentimes have a satellite location where they make and use their product.

The Exterior: It’s not important for you to notice every little door ding on your child’s car, but don’t make the mistake of dismissing the danger signs. Dented wheel rims, bulging sidewalls on tires and fresh body damage are all common signs that your child has recently lost control of their car. The loss of control could have been caused by simple driver inexperience, but you need to dig further. Did they tell you about the incident, or did they ignore/conceal it? Did it happen on a night that you know they were partying? No need to hold a congressional hearing, but you’ll want to check the car’s interior, as well as their clothes etc, for signs that alcohol or drugs were involved. Now check the black rubber stripping that lines the side windows of the car. As smokers cast their ashes out the window, they tend to collect in these crevices. It’s also important to pay attention to bumper stickers. Do they flaunt support for a band that is famous for drug use? Is “420″ displayed anywhere (marijuana)? What do they seem to want the world to know about them?

The Interior: It’s 7am on a Sunday morning. Your teen wont be getting up for another 4 hours. It’s a great time to give them the gift of a free car wash. Before pulling into the Auto Spa, though, park the car and spend a few minutes inside. Does it smell like someone’s been smoking inside? To the same extent, have they gone NUTS with the air fresheners? Some high school kids are very fond of something called “hot boxing”. A group of them jump into a car, roll up the windows, shut off the air circulator and fill the interior with marijuana smoke. It’s a makeshift smoke chamber. The car will stink like marijuana for a few hours. With a little ventilation though, it will smell just like a typical cigarette smoker’s car.

Now check the steering wheel for burn marks. Also check the top of the steering column. Then draw your attention to the carpet, center console and seats (front and back). Burn marks in these areas, or anywhere in the car, are pretty dead giveaways. While sitting or driving, the blunt, cigarette or pipe is often passed between occupants. Sometimes it gets dropped along the way. While your checking the seats and carpet, its a good time to inspect for odors (beer, vomit, urine). Unpleasant, but these are the common souvenirs left behind after a night of partying.

Then go back to the center console and carpet area nearest to the center console. First look for beer bottle caps, cellophane wrapping from cigarette boxes and blunt or cigar wrappings. Then inspect for small green stems and unusually large, round seeds. When marijuana is transferred from its package, to the pipe or cigarette, it is common for the stems and seeds to either fall out, or be taken out. You can distinguish between normal vegetation, and marijuana refuse, by the size. Marijuana product tends to be less than 1 cm in length, even when thick enough to be much longer. It is processed prior to sale, so that it can be easily rolled into a joint.

Word of Caution: If your teen is smoking tobacco, they are highly likely to be smoking marijuana as well. A whopping 75% of teen tobacco smokers admit to smoking marijuana as well. Both products are illegal for purchase by those under the age of 18. Both products are known to cause a wide range of health problems, several of which are fatal. The method of ingestion is the same, as are many of the stigmas associated with their use. Once a teen has abandoned regard for these circumstances, there is little if anything to deter them from a polydrug habit.

At the same time, you’re looking for tobacco shavings. These are obvious, because they are stained an unnatural looking dark brown. Teenagers commonly remove the tobacco from cigarettes or cigars, and replace it with marijuana. It looks and smells much less conspicuous than the traditional joint.

Now check the center console and glove compartment. Here’s where you may find the pipe, lighter, or even the stash itself. Be sure to pull the glove compartment down and stick your hand in behind it. This is a natural cavern often used by drug users to conceal their kits or stashes. Does the center console have a bucket like interior? If so, check to see if it lifts out. If there is a gear shifter in the center console, check to see if it’s cover lifts off. This is another favorite hiding place.

Your almost done. Go back through the door compartments, check under the front seats. Lift up the rear seat cushions and stick your fingers between the seat backs. Your looking for things that may have been missed when they were cleaning. Also be on the lookout for chemical containers that could be used for huffing. If you find a bic pen, a drinking straw, or a rolled up piece of paper that is cut down to about 3 inches in length, stop your search. Get in your car immediately and purchase one drug test kit for heroine and one for cocaine. If there is white powder inside the straw, drop it into the kit. If not, cut off the end of the straw and drop that into the kit. You can also use a drug detection wipe for either of these substances.

Most kids today know that police need additional justification to search the trunk of their car. For that reason, the trunk is often used to store the actual narcotics. After checking any packages in the trunk, unravel and rolled up socks that you find. Pull the felt away from any spot that it appears loose. Look in the spare tire well and gather up any chemical containers. Carefully inspect any soda or chemical containers that you find. Dummy containers are very popular on the internet and in the smoke shops. They look and feel exactly like the original. They are even weighted alike. Try turning the top and bottom both clockwise and counter clockwise. If it moves, it’s fake. The real ones are welded aluminum.