Back in the days of Prohibition, many legitimate businesses would work as fronts for the illegal sale of alcohol. Bootleggers would partner with drug stores or barber shops, as depicted in "The Great Gatsby," to set up a bar behind a secret door. To gain passage, patrons would have to talk very quietly to avoid attention – hence the term speakeasy.

The same concept is alive and well 100 years later. Only now, instead of bathtub gin behind a barber shop, authorities are finding illegal drugs behind the counters of smoke and vape shops. In the day of the internet and tech-savvy law enforcement, you would think it is considerably harder to get away with.

These modern speakeasies aren’t limited to big cities like Gatsby’s New York. In September, police raided a vape shop near the University of Mississippi after undercover investigators conducted a controlled purchase. Inside, authorities found oodles of illicit drugs, including more than 500 units of kratom, THC cartridges, and other suspected narcotics.

The raid came amid an investigation into the deaths of two Ole Miss students. Court records show one of the students had purchased a kratom-like product from the store........

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