DRUG GEAR IS CREATIVE, OFFICER SAYS

Last fall, officer Dave Pratt found that students were getting more
inventive in the ways they were sneaking drug paraphernalia into schools.

Commonly used by youths in the Colorado Springs area are marijuana pipes or
other drug paraphernalia discreetly disguised in everyday items like yellow
fluorescent highlighters, lipstick holders, household batteries or keychain
flashlights.

"We were pretty impressed at how creative people were getting," said Pratt,
a school resource officer at Sand Creek High School.

Last fall, Pratt met a high school student who had a yellow highlighter pen
that doubled as a ceramic marijuana pipe. It wasn't something he recognized
as typical drug paraphernalia - in the classroom or on the street.

So he applied for a $2,000 state grant on community policing to identify
drug paraphernalia.

Pratt bought dozens of items at local record and novelty stores to use in
his presentations.

Now, he uses that information to brief parent-teacher associations, patrol
officers and educators to help them identify such items, catch drug users
and curb drug use.

"Parents are starving for this information, especially those who have kids
going through middle school or even high school," Pratt said.

"The feedback so far has been really positive," Pratt said. "A lot of folks
just didn't have a clue as to what is available out there. We have a lot of
officers that didn't recognize some of these things."

Pratt, who is also a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officer,
presents the items and shows slides of different drugs to help parents and
teachers identify them.

Identifying drug use and supplies often starts with identifying behavior
changes, such as changes in appearance or friends, Pratt said.

The program has been presented throughout Falcon School District 49, but
Pratt and his partner, officer Rob Meredith, are trying to expand it to
include all school districts in the Colorado Spring area.