Teen bedroom trailer shows the warning signs of drug use

What looks like your average teen bedroom, is actually a whole lot more.

“It’s a rising issue. It’s something that’s bigger and bigger every year,” says State Representative, Matt Soper.

The replica is supposed to be an educational experience for parents, showing them the signs of opioid use.”

“Starting with the bathroom and then into the closet and into the bedroom, to look for the indications of what opioid abuse looks like,” says Jeff Blom with Code 3 Association.

Experts led a guided walk-through of the trailer, showing parents what to look for and what to do.

“These are obvious signs. Some of them are hidden but most of them are obvious signs that parents should be aware of,” says Blom.

According to Mesa County Public Health, 16% of Mesa County high school students say they have taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription. Twenty percent say they think it’s easy to get prescription drugs without a doctor.

“We got first-responders who would show up at the scene, we got former drug addicts and we got parents of kids who lost their kid to an overdose, all coming together to help us put this trailer together: what to look for, how it looks,” says Blom.

And those with experience say this simulation is the real deal: “Former addicts or parents who lost kids say this is spot on you’re right on track with this,” says Blom.

Walking through it himself, State Representative Matt Soper was surprised at what he saw.

“It’s a real eye-opener to what our young people and youth might do as far as drug abuse and what we can do to actually spot that,” says Soper.

Hoping that parents won’t ignore the signs: “I think parents will come in and they will be stunned at things that are just lying out in the open,” says Soper.