They call him Tall Cop.

Measuring six feet nine inches, Police officer Jermaine Galloway is not a guy a group of underage drinkers would want to see coming through the door.

The Boise-area policeman is taller than LeBron James and savvy enough to know all the tricks.

Galloway, 6 feet, nine inches tall, guided parents and youth workers through a lively tutorial on teenage party behavior, drug-related clothing lines, lingo, music and more during a Sunday afternoon session at Pendleton High School. Along the way, he opened some eyes.

On a table sat an assortment of apparent energy drinks. The shiny cans bore bright colors and fruit flavors that indicated contents of tea or lemonade. Galloway picked up one of them a watermelon-flavored Four Loko and waved his hand at others: Joose, High Gravity, Twisted Tea, Sparks Red and Tilt. Despite the bright energy drink labeling, the beverages are loaded with alcohol.

This has 12 percent alcohol by volume, equivalent to five-to-six beers, he said. Just because its one can doesnt mean its one beer.

Galloway worries that some store clerks sell to minors not realizing the malt liquor beverages arent energy drinks. He knows students have gotten away with drinking the beverages at school and home because of the misidentification.

The malt liquor drinks no longer include caffeine the Food and Drug Administration banned alcoholic drinks infused with caffeine in 2010 after some college student hospitalizations and deaths. But that doesnt mean the drinks cannot be consumed in tandem with a Monster or Red Bull to bring intense and dangerous intoxication.

Galloway also spent time flashing logos, acronyms and slang on a large screen and playing slices of popular music. Clothing, he said, offers clues about a person from his favorite sports teams to membership in group. Similarly, when someone is immersed in a drug culture, he or she often wears drug-related apparel or carries paraphernalia disguised as common items. He held up a pair of Reef Sandals and flipped them over to reveal a beer bottle opener. A bracelet unclasped to become a marijuana pipe, complete with bowl. A marker became a pot stash. A shoe contained a flask in the heel.

The number 420 on shirts and hats might indicate someone is into pot. The origins are as hazy as a roomful of marijuana smoke, but the term is code for time to get high. As an example, he held up a shirt with the face of a clock set to 4:20. Clothing brands such as SRH Clothing, DGK (Dirty Ghetto Kids) and Seedless cater to specific drug cultures. Seedless, for instance, attaches stash compartments into the groin areas of jeans and cargo shorts. Kush Friendly, another brand, is named after a variety of cannabis.

Artwork on T-shirts and hats sometimes resemble mainstream characters and logos, but contained subtle enhancements such as bloodshot eyes or a sometimes-unfamiliar acronym. Adults sometimes just dont tune into what their child is really wearing.

Its right in your face, but its made to be discreet, he said. They see it, but we dont.

Galloway shared more material than any newspaper story could cover. The gist of it all, however, was to research, pay attention and notice the clues. Just because your child or student wears a certain logo or listens to a particular band doesnt mean he is in trouble, but it definitely constitutes a conversation starter.

I guarantee you someone is talking to them, whether its you or the kid in the locker next to them, Galloway said. It could be an uncomfortable conversation, but youve got to be having it.

Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0810.