The Influence Of Drugs On Welfare

United States lawmakers face one of the most pressing issues of our time-welfare reform. New screening processes, often considered a direct violation of constitutional rights, have already been enacted in many states. Strong evidence exists, asserting that the practice of administering drug testing to welfare recipients will cost the U.S. taxpayers more money in the long run, stigmatize applicants and participants, and serve only the purpose of making the pharmaceutical companies more powerful. In order to protect the constitutional rights of potential welfare recipients, United States lawmakers should avoid further criminalizing the poor by submitting them to drug testing and/or a

Over the years welfare has been provided to several people who cannot support themselves. This system was originally invented to help those who lost jobs or were not making the minimal salary required to support them. Recently, several American citizens have begun to raise questions about drug users and welfare. Debate soon broke out in 1996 causing several states to take drug testing into consideration. Welfare drug testing can only take place in certain situations: the state must have a law for drug testing, only when there is suspicion of drug use, and if the supreme court passes a law requiring it.

There are many ways in which the drug problem impacts poverty. The most obvious way drug use impacts poverty is through the fact that drugs are addictive and an addict will do anything to get their drugs. A drug addict will spend their life savings on drugs once all of their money is gone they may then resort to criminal activities such as robbery in order to satisfy their growing habit. This drastically contributes to the issue of poverty because not only is the drug addict in poverty but the victim being robbed is also suffering financially. Crime is closely related to drugs because first of all drugs are a crime whether or not they are used for personal purposes or with intent to sell.

The process of drug testing individuals who are applying or receiving welfare benefits has recently become the focus of a widely spread controversy. Florida, the first state to pass the law, now requires all individuals applying for public assistance to undergo drug testing. The state of Kentucky, among others, have considered following this trend. State lawmakers hope to prevent the squandering of taxpayer dollars on drugs by proposing similar guidelines. Alabama’s states representative Kerry Rich clearly affirmed his state’s position on the matter, “I don’t think the taxpayers should have to help fund somebody’s drug habit” (qtd. in Time).

The welfare system is designed to support those that are in need. The welfare system should not be abused or misused and failure to comply will be grounds for termination. Drug testing welfare recipients, is it an infringement of rights and should it be mandatory for everyone that receiving or will receive assistance? This subject is up for debate as to whether or not it violates welfare recipient’s constitutional rights. If it should be implemented, would it help saving tax dollars and government spending and stop welfare

So what are the opinions of the individuals within the country? It’s a very controversial topic within the states, and people have very strong opinions regarding drug testing recipients of welfare. There aren’t many with a ‘middle’ opinion. They normally take one side of the argument. People who passionately believe anyone who receives welfare should be tested, and there are many people who swing the complete opposite way and essentially believe that it’s unconstitutional.

There were a total of three dozen states that considered drug testing recipients. Those states included but are not limited to: Michigan, Maine, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Scott (2011), " In Michigan, drug tests are only to be administered to recipients only if there are reasonable suspicions of abuse”. A reasonable suspicion would include the odor of marijuana, paranoia, and the drastic loss of weight without and evidence of a weight loss plan or health relation. Money given to families by the government for financial support should not be taken away from the home to buy illegal drugs. There are roughly 30 million Americans receiving welfare in the United States. The Ohio Legislators believe that the idea of passing a drug test is a popular way to cut down on fraud, waste, and abuse (Milliken, 2011). Florida is the only state that actually passed a law on drug testing welfare recipients. All the other state proposed a bill for the testing but recanted. Sulzberger  (2011), “In Florida, people receiving cash assistance through welfare have had to pay for their own drug tests since July, and enrollment has shrunk to its lowest levels since the start of the recession”. Florida’s

The article, “States Adding Drug Test as Hurdle for Welfare” stated that in three dozen sates proposed drug testing for the people that are on welfare. However, people say that the tax dollars given to them are not being misused and that it’s promoting stereotypes about the poor. the article says that in Florida, people that receive welfare have to pay for their own drug tests. Also, it says that people argued that it was unreasonable to drug test those on welfare and that it was an act of search and seizure. It’s noted that drug tests are getting more and more required for getting jobs. Ellen Brandom, a state representative in Missouri said, “Working people today work very hard to make ends meet, and it just doesn’t seem fair to them that

Welfare recipients should not be required to pass a monthly drug test before receiving their benefits because welfare and drug tested do not have anything in common, they have different meanings, and drug test should only be for people who are addicted to drugs.

Drug testing people on welfare, would they be asking themselves whether it is right or wrong? If some do believe that drug testing people on welfare is right, then they would not be alone or incorrect. Welfare drug testing is a very controversial topic, there are many people debating fiercely on both sides of this heated argument; they debate about whether testing is necessary and if it is unconstitutional on the case of probable cause. Some people sincerely believe that it is malicious, that it violates on the privacy of the recipients, and they are extremely against even the notion of drug testing recipients; many people stand on the opposing sides of this

While it is true that there are some jobs that do require a drug test prior to employment, the employees have a choice in the matter. If they do not wish to take a drug test, or if they fail the test, they can choose to find another job. However, by making it mandatory that welfare recipients be drug tested, they do not have a choice. If welfare recipients fail a drug test or refuse to take it, they don’t have the option to find another government to get the assistance that they need. Most welfare recipients are in need of public assistance due to situations that they cannot control. For example, if a single mother of three kids gets laid off due to the harsh economy, at some point, she has no other choice but to ask for help. Eventually, she may have to utilize public assistance that the government has put in place such as food stamps, Medicaid, or welfare. If the government makes drug testing mandatory, the single mother of three has only one choice to make—do whatever the government requires to feed

There has been an ongoing controversy as to whether welfare recipients should have to have drug testing done. Drug testing will ensure that recipients will not abuse the money they’re given by the government. Having people on welfare take drug test is advantageous because it could save the system money, it would help social workers identify children who are around drug abuse, and it would deter people from purchasing and using illegal drugs; however, it does have a downside such as people who are on prescription medication will show false positives, it can be an invasion of privacy and drug testing can take hundreds and even thousands of dollars to administer.

Karen Gustafson is someone who knows a lot about the criminalization of the poor. She has spent much of her time researching and writing about just that. According to Gustafson, “The public desire to deter and punish welfare cheating has overwhelmed the will to provide economic security to vulnerable members of society (644).” Because of the misuse of welfare funds by a few, the entire underprivileged population has been targeted as criminals—as lazy, drug abusing sponges. Over the past several decades, the United States government has spent billions of dollars in an effort to catch and prosecute those who are abusing the welfare system. This practice is necessary in order to rid the welfare system of

Should welfare recipients be drug tested? What do you think about this argument? Although some people believe that welfare recipients should not be drug tested because it invades their privacy, welfare recipients should be drug tested because, taxpayers provide the benefit, improves the health and safety of their children and, because it helps to break the poverty cycle.

When the United States’ welfare program was created during the Great Depression, it was meant to temporarily relieve the burdens of the one-fourth of American families who were unemployed, and struggling financially. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Social Security Act in 1935, then amended it in 1939 to create programs to assist families with unemployment compensation, and to create government agencies to oversee these programs, including Health and Human Services. The purpose of the welfare program was to provide short-term assistance to families in need while they got back on their feet, and found new employment. It was and is still funded by the hard-earned money of American taxpayers. Since that time, government assistance programs have progressed to the point of serving 49.2 percent of the population according to 2011 statistics, released in 2014.7 Of those receiving benefits, approximately 20 percent have been on the program for over five years. These facts go against the initial purpose of the welfare program as a temporary crutch. Studies have shown that about 20 percent of welfare recipients have tested for, or reported illicit drug use (although, those numbers vary and can be higher, based on the testing method used). Taxpayers should be aware that their taxes are funding these drug users’ illegal lifestyles. Therefore, drug testing should be a mandatory