Essay on Making Drug Testing Mandatory for Welfare

As with all political issues, there are those on the other side of the fence. People oppose this legistlation for various reasons: from constitutionality to cost. According to a study done by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), welfare recipients are no more likely to use drugs. Furthermore, placing a requirement to be tested may place a stigma upon those receiving welfare which would be counterproductive to their relief (Drug Testing). An editorial by Henry Waters in the Columbia Daily Tribune, the bill is the government attempting to punish a class of people who are presumed worthless (Waters). Another reason people oppose this legislation is the cost. The ACLU study reports the average cost of a drug test at $42 per person. There are less invasive and cheaper methods to

Author Ilan Wurman argues in this his publication, that drug testing to apply for welfare violates the fourth amendment of the constitution so changes must be made to the current system. A failed testing program in Florida required all applicants to complete a drug screening test before receiving benefits and the cost of the tests are paid for by the applicant, but reimbursed if the test results are negative. Wurman concludes by stating that suspicion less drug testing of government assistance recipients in

Welfare is for people who don’t have enough income to live off of and is supposed to be for helping them out with things like food, clothing, and most basic necessities. 61% of people not on welfare are against it and believe people who receive welfare don’t use it for the intended reason and basically look at it as free money. There is 21.3% of the population on government assist. That’s approximately 52.2 million peaple participating in it right now. They get food stamps from the govt and sell them to buy drugs or alcohol which is probably the reason they are on it in the first place. If they did a drug test beforehand, then they would know to not accept that person because the money more than likely would only buy them their next high; therefore, welfare recipients should receive drug tests before being accepted.

Many people may agree that drug testing people who are on or will become welfare is a great way to stop misuse of the system. Drug testing is one way to accomplish this, and their reasoning may be well founded.

The United States welfare system should not support drug users because they are trying to get those people that need help, help. Therefore those people who are getting help from welfare should be bettering themselves and not hurting themselves. Drug testing should be mandatory, because this would be unfair to tax payers and other resources to support someone who abuses the benefit. Next, drug testing would benefit those who would need abuse treatment programs. Also, welfare should focus on families that would spend the money on necessities. Although welfare helps a lot of families, some use the money they receive to buy illegal drugs.

In Oklahoma, it is required for every applicant to go through a serious of drug screening when applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Welfare. If they get flagged for suspicion and possible drug use, they are required to be tested for illegal drugs. Proposals for drug testing laws and regulations began in 1996 since the Welfare reform has been in act. People agree with it because certain deserving individuals should only be allowed to be granted TANF if they qualify. Others disagree with this because they believe TANF is a “right”. The Oklahoma State law should be the example for a Federal Law regarding Welfare drug testing.

Should welfare recipients be drug-tested? Welfare recipients should be drug tested because there are a lot of them who are buying drugs or alcohol but claimed that they can’t afford basic needs like food or water. The same way they are getting drugs they should be able to purchase food without having welfare help them. The government is providing for you and giving you free money in return you should be able to prove that you are worth it of those services by doing a drug screening test. The money welfare provides you should be used responsibly and not being treated as a hall pass. I believe money should be used to feed your children, not for your addictions. When you are being drug tested can also prove that you are capable to take care of your family. If the state is

Drug testing should be a requirement when applying for Welfare because it teaches self dependence. Allowing drug users to have welfare encourages them that they do not have to work for obtaining the basic necessities in life. Requiring drug screenings would allow addicts to change their life around and get the motivation that they need to support their families and community. Critics have argued that mandatory drug testing is prejudice against the poor ,but there are individuals who work hard and do not receive enough financial support. Should we discriminate against them ? we are taking money out of each paycheck they receive the least we can do is make sure that welfare funds end up in the right places. Drug addicts spend the little

People receiving government assistance should be required to submit a drug test for benefits, because it would save taxpayers’ money. There are currently seven states in America that drug screen their assistance receiving citizens. Many people want to argue that the findings are disheartening based on a few to a couple hundred people testing positive. The thing that people do not understand however, is that per every person who tests positive is a few hundred to a thousand dollars not being wasted the next month. Think about it, say citizens in Iowa receive $500 in benefits. Out of all of the welfare recipients, 100 test positive for

After analyzing the various sources I have determined it is not cost effective to require drug testing for welfare applicants and recipients. Before I go into my reasoning I want to give a little history on why the welfare system was put into place. The British poor laws were in place before the Welfare system as we know was adapted. These laws were in place top distinguish what people were unable to work due to various reasons and who was able to work but just could not find employment. One that fell into this category received assistance either cash or others forms of help. All through the 1800's the government attempted to reconstruct how they dealt with the poor. The idea was to assist the poor while helping them move to their independence.

Should drug testing be a necessity for all state and federal aid programs? Drug testing welfare recipients have been a major issue across the United States for a few years now. Many indicate that if working class people are subject to a test prior to hire or randomly during the duration of employment, why should those that don’t have to work for money not have the same treatment? The government estimated that random annual drug testing for welfare recipients would cost each taxpayer an additional four-thousand dollars per year. They say there is no punishment for failing a drug test, but is there. The lack of free money, food or health care to me seems like a punishment. I will briefly give a history of the attempts to reform the public assistance program and the need for drug testing.

Although the government may have their suspicions on testing individuals who they give assistance to, I feel that they shouldn’t drug test the individuals who are receiving assistance. Though, drug testing the individual seems as it would be a quaint idea, the cost of the tests are quite expensive. Rosenfeld discusses in his article that most drugs can leave a person’s system in about two to three days. On the contrary, it has become quite common today that most drugs that people utilize stay in a person’s systems for a few weeks to a few months (i.e. marijuana).While taking this thought into mind; it also shows how the drugs tests won’t be accurate if this happens. Simply because, many people will try to beat the test by attempting to cleanse their

Most people believe that drug testing welfare applicants and recipients is necessary and saves the government and taxpayers’ money. However, the majority do not know that drug testing cost the government more than it saves. If you better understand that the method of drug testing has shown to be an extremely flawed method for tracking down abusers, that it does not

Besonen of the Concordian states that a reason for mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients is that it is just fair. (Besonen, The Concordian, web.). People who work have to drug test and so should applicants. Colleges require drug testing for sports

Drug testing welfare recipients has been hotly debated topic since the turn of the Twenty-first Century. Drug testing should be required for those who receive any type of government subsidy. Welfare, the government aid for the underprivileged, has become a prominent component of American society. Drug abuse has also become a large part of the American culture, and there is an immense number of these drug abusers living off of some type of welfare. Welfare recipients should be subject to mandatory drug testing to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent properly, to protect the wellbeing of children in homes receiving benefits, and to promote independence from government benefits.