Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Is Stupid
By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
This is one of the dumbest things I've heard recently coming out of state legislatures, forcing thinking people to pose the question: And what is your point?
States consider drug tests for welfare recipients
By TOM BREEN, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 26, 9:28 am ET
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Want government assistance? Just say no to drugs.
Lawmakers in at least eight states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing.
The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse.
Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing.
"Nobody's being forced into these assistance programs," said Craig Blair, a Republican in the West Virginia Legislature who has created a Web site — notwithmytaxdollars.com — that bears a bobble-headed likeness of himself advocating this position. "If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?"
Uh, right. And if they test positive—then what? Throw functioning drug addicts, who aren't committing crimes against anyone but their own bodies, in jail? It's a different story with violent criminals, but alcoholics and low-scale drug users? There's no room! Our jails are already overflowing.
Everyone knows drug addicts have to "hit bottom" before they reform. Far as I'm concerned, living on welfare is already "hitting bottom," and forcing them into homeless shelters isn't going to get them any closer to recovery. Besides, there aren't enough spaces in cheap or free recovery programs. So the point of this was, what?
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Reader Comments
Stupid?
Stupid is hiring commentators who do not think through the subject and come to a conclusion, but start from the conclusion they want and work back. Problem is, young lady, you missed a couple of points of logic in the process.
For one, a positive result does not mean you must arrest the tester - it just means he cannot receive benefits.
Try again.
Mandatory drug testing is genius!
Why take our tax dollars and give it to people on welfare so they can spend it on drugs? If this idea is so stupid, please explain to me why you feel that tax paying Americans should pay for drugs for other people? We are not talking about prescription drugs here either, we are talking about marijuana, cocaine, etc...
Also, if the welfare recipients are on drugs, then how do they expect to get a job and get off of welfare?
drugs are paid for by the free medical offered with the hole plan.
Right now drugs prescription drugs are the #1 drug abused on the street. people treated for overdosing are doing it with prescription drugs. Paid for by the goverment free medicle. plus the hospital care for when they overdose and to rule out sucide they are sent to a psychatric hospital to be watched for a period of time. My brother quit his job tolive on welfare. lives in welfare apartment buys food with the foodstamps and has a friendly personal doctor who continues to provide a note saying he medically cant work and write him scripts for narcotic drugs. plus protect him from child support laws so he is high every day abandon his children and refuses to work 5 out of six doctors suspected he was displaying behavior of a drug addict and wanted him to see a shrink but welfare doesnt care that he lied his doctor knows there is nothing wrong with him but the goverment is using my tax money to help kill my drug addict brother and also support him and protect him from supporting his daughters. He stopped seeing them permanently now that he can get high daily.
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