'JESUS FACTOR' IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL DRUG PROGRAMS

Re: We need new tactics to fight youth drug use, Jan. 3.

I find it hard to believe that no one offered an answer to 17-year-old
letter-writer Abdirazak Abdi.

There are tried and true tactics to combat youth drug use. A U.S. study
done about 20 years ago concluded that government-sponsored drug treatment
programs were a waste of taxpayers' dollars.

It concluded that the only successful such programs were because of what it
called the Jesus factor.

Pascal, the famous French mathematician, made a statement that is worth
remembering.

He said we all have a "God-shaped" vacuum in our hearts that can only be
filled with the Holy Spirit. That means becoming a Christian.

Ignorance has people trying to satisfy themselves with cigarettes, alcohol,
drugs, sex, money, religions and about anything you can name, when the only
real satisfaction comes from knowing Jesus (not just knowing about Him).

Why do Christian drug treatment centres such as Freedom Village in New York
State, Teen Challenge Centres throughout the U.S. and Canada and Ottawa's
Harvest House have a success rate of around 85 per cent on a limited
budget, while government-sponsored organizations spend millions of dollars,
only to have a success rate of three to five per cent?

The success rate depends on whether the addict desires to commit to a
personal relationship to the Lord Jesus.

President George W. Bush announced in his State of the Union address that
the United States was going to fund faith-based drug-addiction treatment
programs.

As a Christian, he has concluded that the Jesus Factor is the only
treatment that works.

How long will it be before the Canadian federal government and the media
come to the same conclusion?

Chuck Runolfson,

Ottawa