I happened to catch the end of the 9:00 p.m. news on Fox Channel 9 tonight and watched the piece they did on meth. There was a video of two young men using meth. I watched them transform from individual human beings to paranoid animal-like individuals playing Russian Roulette with a semi-automatic pistol. Not an easy thing to do, by the way.
The video came courtesy of a local county attorney. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch which county. It was a gutsy move to release the tape and I respect him for doing it.
The newscast also showed an interview of one of the individuals in the video using meth who is now locked up in one of our state prisons. He has difficultly speaking, thinking and basically functioning. It was a graphic depiction of an all too familiar scene for most police officers. Meth is a very serious problem in our state and our communities. It impacts us financially through the cost of health care, criminal justice system, prevention and loss of income by those who addict themselves to this poison.
We are not immune to the effects of meth in Northfield and the surrounding area. One of the most obvious impacts is felt in the number of thefts from vehicles and shoplifting incidents that involve the attempt to find cash or anything easily converted to cash or anything they can trade for meth or another drug.
The news feature came on the heels of another reported murder that law enforcement officials in the north Metro area are blaming on a meth induced rage.
The prosecutors, police, judges and probation components of the criminal justice system will continue to deal with this problem as best we can. In addition, we need to continue a serious dialogue into the causation factors that lead individuals into the dark despair caused by the addiction of a drug.
The Minnesota Department of Health, specifically Deborah Durkin, (651-215-0778), has been a leader in getting information and training out on the destructiveness of meth.
I pledge to you that we will continue to do everything we can to address this problem. Part of the effort involves educating the community, gaining support for prevention programs for youth, and encouraging a very frank discussion of the scope of the problem in our community. If you are interested in learning more about this issue or would like someone to present a program to a group in Northfield, please feel free to call or email Sergeant Roger Schroeder at 507-663-9322.