Bonnie Erbe

Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Is Stupid

March 26, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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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I realize this post is a couple years old but I am doing a speech for a communications class on this topic and stumbled upon it while doing research (which I highly suggest you do if you still feel this way).

The point is, it gives people with drug and alcohol addiction another reason to come clean. It gives them a choice they may not of otherwise been forced to make. It also has the potential to save tax payers money because some drug and alcohol users would rather not submit to a test and would instead look for viable income to support there habits instead of us doing it for them. We already poor millions of dollars a year into recovery programs, can you spare another $400/ month to support my habits? Don't be so naive to think your not already paying for it though, because you are...we all are.

Drug testing for state assistance isn't about throwing people into our already over crowded jails, its about insuring the money is being put to good use. In fact. Not once did I see an article that indicated those who came up positive would be subject to jail time, instead they would be suspended from any and all assistance they're receiving until they agreed to and fulfilled some sort of recovery program. As part of that program they would also be subject to further testing to insure they remained clean for the duration of their assistance.

Not that this matters but I was a drug addict for several years, after that I drank myself under that table for 2 years straight while trying to cope with a divorce. I was also on welfare during most of this. I understand dependency but more importantly I understand myself and had I been subject to any form of testing to receive the assistance I was getting, I would have came clean alot faster. I realize not everyone shares my way of thinking and my priorities however, I do have hope that there are MANY out there that do. I strongly believe drug testing would be a positive thing for our Nation and its people.

Leo of ID 3:18PM November 23, 2011

i have to agree with Bonnie's thinking on this. something i've wondered, how is the cost to implement drug testing justified? the test, the paperwork, the additional employees, the monitored bathrooms, the guards who strip search the welfare recipient before entering bathroom, (he may have a container of someone else's urine hidden up his butt) the childcare workers to watch their children while they give their urine sample, the person who runs the test on the sample or if it's sent out then there is a courier, etc. and of course we have to get slips on file from doctors for the people who have prescriptions for the medications that are on the test, i.e. amphetamines, opiates, benzodiazepines and in some cases marijuana as well as the drugs that can cause false positives.. more paperwork. so what if someone is positive and doesn't have a medical condition? what then? withhold benefits? what if they have children? or send the recipient to a treatment center? yep those usually work, drug addicts are estimated to relapse at a rate of about 80%. all this money to make every recipient submit to urine testing (and how often anyway?) does welfare really give people enough money to support a drug habit? or are most welfare recipients still living below the US dept of health and human services poverty guidelines?

sbelen of MI 11:06PM November 10, 2011

If your on welfare AND using drugs..you call that functioning???

Kathy J Armada of OH 9:52PM October 14, 2011

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report and hosts PBS's weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. She also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column for Scripps Howard News Service.

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