Welfare Drug Testing Essay - 1383 Words

Welfare Drug Testing Trevor Brooks, SOC 110 11/09/2011 In today’s America, government aid is highly depended on. The US government has spent $498 billion dollars this year on welfare alone. The state of Tennessee has an average of 250,000 residents on welfare and has $3 billion dollars this year alone. To help cut costs and help tax payers, 36 states, including Tennessee, have proposed a bill to drug test all welfare recipients. Since the beginning of the year, the welfare rate has jumped 7 percent while at the same time, the welfare funds are drying up. Tennessee funds have dropped 17.5 percent, which comes out to be about $215.3 million dollars this year. State lawmakers have proposed that if drug users on welfare are†¦show more content†¦255). One idea at a time, the group members discussed the outcomes and repercussions of the actions at hand. At the end of the session, the group members came up with the best solution for drug usage amongst welfare recipients. 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), â€Å"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’sShow MoreRelatedWelfare Drug Testing1506 Words   |  7 PagesName Teacher Class Date Drug Testing: Well-Fitting for Welfare â€Å"According to a new study released by the World Health Organization, the U.S leads the world and takes the gold for the use of tobacco, pot, and cocaine, far outpacing other countries†(US Ranks #1). According to an article on alternet.org America abuses drugs worse than any other country. It is no secret that the United States’ economy is nearing an all time low. 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In order to protect the constitutional rights of potential welfare recipients