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At a July 3 news conference, Smith said more than 150 Northfield kids are hooked on heroin and as many as 250 current and former Northfield High School students could be involved in a heroin ring working out of the school, some feeding heroin habits of as much as $800 a day.
Smith also said three people had been indicted over heroin possession, kids were talking hospital patients out of their prescription drugs and kids were roaming college dorms looking for electronic gear to fence to support their habit.
His comments angered school officials and left many residents bewildered. Since then, some have questioned whether the city even has a heroin problem and disputed key points Smith made at the news conference. Among the disputed facts:
—School authorities dismiss the idea that there’s a heroin ring at the high school.
—No indictments have been returned for heroin possession.
—Hospital officials in the Northfield area say they’ve seen no evidence of young con artists at work.
—Carleton College officials report an increase in thefts, but neighboring St. Olaf College reports no increase.
Northfield schools Superintendent Chris Richardson said he learned about the police chief’s news conference only a couple of hours beforehand and was dumbfounded by the chief’s assessment.
“Our numbers just don’t match up,” he said.
Richardson said there were 15 students referred for drug treatment for using heroin or the prescription drug oxycodone during the 2006-07 school year.
“What I think many of us are questioning is, was this a significant exaggeration of the reality, and if it was, did we end up with a negative impact along with whatever positive there was?” Richardson said.
Smith said he decided to publicize the heroin use because undercover drug buys and other typical investigative practices weren’t drying up the supply. He said he also wanted to alert residents to lock their doors and steer users to treatment.
Sarah Shippy, a behavioral-health specialist who operates the only chemical dependency treatment program in town and who spends one day a week counseling students at Northfield High, said she knows of 55 to 60 Northfield youths who have either tried heroin or oxycodone, used it or become addicted. Those numbers may be lower than what Smith cited, but they’re still significant, she said.
“We have more (heroin) use going on than is generally witnessed in a community of this size (about 19,000),” she said.
Joshua Hinnenkamp, 29, is executive director of the Northfield Union of Youth, which runs a chemical-free downtown teen center. He said that he thought maybe 20 people ranging in age from mid-teens to 25 were buying heroin in town.
“Whatever approach Gary Smith used to get those numbers was probably not scientific,” Hinnenkamp said. “At the same time, whether it’s 200 kids or 50 kids, it’s still a big problem.”
Northfield High student Claire Carlson, 17, who chairs the Mayor’s Youth Council, said she had heard little about heroin. “I think if it had been as widespread as it was portrayed to be, we would have had some inkling,” she said.
