Northfield's heroin-linked woes symptom of a greater ill

Minneapolis Star Tribune ^ | July 08, 2007 | Katherine Kersten

[rhema]

A perfect storm has hit Northfield, Minn. Last week, police there announced that the city is combating an epidemic of heroin use by kids ages 15 to 23. Between 150 and 250 kids are apparently involved, and the operation is centered at Northfield High School. The heroin comes from Twin Cities pushers. Northfield's crime rate has skyrocketed, as young users break into cars or garages and steal to feed habits costing as much as $800 a day. Kids have roamed through dorms at Carleton and St. Olaf colleges, grabbing laptops and cell phones to sell. They have even invaded hospitals in Rochester, soliciting patients for OxyContin.

We associate heroin -- a highly addictive blighter of lives -- with crumbling inner cities. We assume that users embrace it out of desperation, because they are surrounded by crime and hopelessness.

Northfield is at the other end of the universe. The community of 18,000 is known for its "cows, colleges and contentment." It boasts good schools, a host of activities, and affluent and highly educated parents.

Are Northfield's young heroin users just bad apples? Hardly. Many are "alpha" kids -- top students and popular athletes who are spreading the habit to their neighbors and friends.

Right now, lots of folks -- in Northfield and elsewhere -- are searching for explanations. Should teachers have seen this coming? Is drug education sufficient? Are there enough treatment options?

When I heard about Northfield's epidemic, however, some different thoughts occurred to me.

[rhema]

Today, in short, we discourage reckless pleasure seeking generally by invoking more self-interest: the consequences of drinking or sex may inconvenience you, or harm your health. Today, we rarely tell our kids that certain behaviors are morally wrong or beneath human dignity. Nor do we emphasize that obligations to others -- parents, teachers and fellow citizens -- should bar such behavior.

We prefer to believe that this philosophy of hedonism and radical individualism -- checked only by a fuller consideration of self-interest --won't have long-term negative consequences.

But we shouldn't be surprised when our young people act on it, and do so in frightening ways that we didn't anticipate.

[MplsSteve]

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[pabianice]

Another Blue City success story.

[Gay State Conservative]

It boasts good schools, a host of activities, and affluent and highly educated parents.

affluent,highly educated parents="oh,Starshine is just going through (sorry...*thru*) a phase.Remember what we used to shoot up down at Washington Square Park? We used to hop on the "A" train (we jumped the fare turnstyles,of course),shoot up that sh*t and when we got back to our dorm at Columbia the RA didn't give a sh*t what condition we were in".

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

What Would Wellstone Do??

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I’m speechless.

[rhema]

Another Blue City success story.

Kind of, from what I know. Northfield's legislative district (district 25) boasts one strong conservative senator (Tom Neuville) and, more narrowly representing the immediate area in district 25B, a Democrat (David Bly). I don't know about the town's internal politics, but the two colleges (St. Olaf and Carleton) are -- at the faculty and administrative levels, at least -- bastions of politically correct liberalism.

[dmz]

Painting with a rather broad brush, aren’t you?

If the discussion were about marijuana, I’d probably agree with you, but heroin? You are way off base, IMHO. I cannot imagine any non-junkie parent, anywhere, thinking that intravenous heroin consumption is ‘just a phase’.

[Manic_Episode]

I was just in Northfield a little over a week ago for an "ultimate fighting" event, of all things, and it is a very nice place that smells wonderful from its Malt-O-Meal plant.
It's too bad that such a nice place is experiencing such a blight.

[rhema]

What Would Wellstone Do??

The private Wellstone (who was a hail-fellow-well-met kind of guy) would be grieved as we all are. The politician Wellstone would probably seek to apply some kind of government grant as a band-aid panacea.

[trisham]

Imho, the post was sarcastic.

[dmz]

Imho, the post was sarcastic.
_________-

I’ll eat my words happily if you are correct, but I didn’t read GSC’s words as sarcasm at all.

[gas_dr]

I am an Ole (St. Olaf graduate). For me, Northfield is the real Lake Wobegone — all the truth without the liberal spin. I agree Olaf has become far too PC, and Carlton was always the odd side of town. But it saddens me to here this is going on in the town I recall so fondly...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Are they smoking the stuff or shooting it ?

[rhema]

For me, Northfield is the real Lake Wobegone — all the truth without the liberal spin.

Probably true for many or most of the town's residents. As I perused the city council's site for political indicators, I see one caveat:
City Council Peace Pledge
The City Council has pleadged [sic] its commitment to the 2001-2010 International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World. The movement is a major mobilization effort being directed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

I admit to skepticism of any UN-related group, notably one that bestowed its 2006 José Martí International Award on President Hugo Chávez.

[rhema]

Interesting footnote: In 2001 the group You Can Run But You Cannot Hide put on an anti-drug assembly at the high school, as it has in about 60 other Minnesota high schools, according to its website.

In a Pioneer Press column shortly after the assembly, a Presbyterian pastor ripped the group [SPPP archived excerpt is below] for a member's comment that faith was his avenue to exit his life of drug abuse.

St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN) - June 17, 2001 - A18 Editorial

FAITH OF OUR FATHERS//FOUNDING FATHERS, THAT IS. PUBLIC MONEY SPENT ON A FAITH-BASED ANTI-DRUG HIGH SCHOOL ASSEMBLY IN NORTHFIELD CHALLENGES CONSTITUTIONAL CALL FOR SEPARATION.

Once upon a time, I believed in the good intentions of drug-abuse prevention programs in the public schools. No longer. In April, Northfield schools secured $1,500 from the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning for a drug-abuse prevention assembly. With the blessings of the principal, superintendent and school board, Kevin Merkle, Northfield High School activities director, hired a Christian evangelist to do the job. Don't bother to read that paragraph again....

The column sparked at least one letter to the editor [SPPP archived excerpt below].

St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN) - June 19, 2001 - A6 Editorial

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Rev. Kristine Holmgren's June 17 column oozes supercilious disdain for the Northfield School Board and other school personnel who don't share her MCLU-eviscerated interpretation of the First Amendment. How far descended is MCLU protectress Holmgren from the Founding Fathers, who suffered no paroxysms of paranoia when they contemplated religious freedom of expression in state-ordained educational...
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