Should you be required to pass a drug test before getting welfare?
Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at
2:12 pm
Most jobs require a drug test before employment and lots of other jobs require random drug tests in order to continue your employment and get a pay check. We pay taxes and the government distributes the taxes as they see fit. Shouldn’t someone wanting/needing welfare be required to pass a drug test since the taxpayers have to pass one in order to be gainfully employeed and contribute to the person receiving the welfare check?
Filed under: Detox
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That makes sense!
Absolutely!
I could live with that.
Very good point!
Yes.
I think it would be a good thing to have drug/alcohol tests for welfare qualifications. We shouldn’t have to pay for their habit (if they aren’t trying to fix it).
not in the law so no
changing the law – got my vote
If they did that, the street price of clean urine would be higher than crack.
This is a great question and suggestion!!!!
You are absolutely correct. Not only should they have to pass a drug test, it should be ongoing and random.
I just received an email about that! A guy says that he has to be tested for his job, his taxes pay into welfare, shouldn’t they be tested to pick up a check? FREAKING YES! I can see the protest lines starting to form…..
Now that, my friend, is a terrific idea. WONDERFUL idea. And should have intermediate tests…wow…how the system would change. You are a pioneer…Will you run for president?
that is a great point that i dont think anyone in office has really looked into in detail. if the costs of providing urine tests were to be less then the money saved by positive testing it could save millions in the long run.
u get a star from me
hahaha
I think that is an awesome idea…you should check out who you could approach this with..you got my vote.
i agree with this. the way i look at it, for me to get employed i have to pass a drug screen. so yes i think that someone applying for welfare should have to pass one. i think it would cut down on how many people abuse the system. yes i know some people need it but i feel that alot of dead beat drug addicts abuse it to but their drugs. so my answer is YES.
That would be a good step in the right direction. I think that there is a bigger issue here though. There are to many people abusing the system.
But thats another Oprah.
I’ve never heard of that before but it sounds like a good idea. You will probably have opposition from those who say that there should be no obstacles to welfare.
I think that is a fabulous idea.
No food stamps, AFDC, or housing assistance unless you can test clean.
You should also have to pass a drug test to collect ssi (aka disability ) People who are so bad off that they can’t work sure as heck don’t need to be doing dope.
No. There are MANY types of false positives and you would be creating more layers of bullcrap bureaucracy. There also is already too much intrusion. Plus things like seed bagels and prescription medications can give false positives and that would not be fair to some poor sick little old lady. I think Welfare had gotten a bad name. I was on welfare once for about two weeks. I was nearly homeless and needed hospital care and the hospital told me to go sign up for welfare and then the hospital bill would be subsidized. I am an intelligent hard working person with 2 college degrees but sometimes disaster a la Katrina strikes! It was a horrible experience. I wish it on nobody. After paying high taxes all those years and then get sneered at by some bureaucrat who by the way could barely speak English!
Yes everyone on welfare should be tested
People receiving government assistance should be made to do a great deal of things. Besides the drug screens, they should be obligated to seek a high school GED, some job training skills, training. So we don’t just alleviate the problem for a moment. But also give the skills to encourage self dependence. Great question. God bless****
I do believe they should but we can’t change that. Society has become what it is because someone made it that way.
I think you have a good point.
Perhaps, but here is the problem. First off drug tests are not free and will end up costing even more in taxes. Second if someone is so addicted to drugs that they can’t stay off long enough to pass a drug test (3 days for most narcotics) then they are not likely to have the ambition to even go apply for welfare. Otherwise you have to test every month costing even more money.
Yes, yes, a thousand times YES!!!
Never thought about this before, but I think that is a GREAT idea!
Absolutely!!!
If I have to take a drug test to get a job to pay the taxes that are distributed to people who sit at home and collect welfare, they should have to test clean to be able to collect that money that I have to test clean to have taken away from me in taxes..
If they want my money, I want proof they are not using it to party on and get high..
Just more proof that our government is in a sad state and is not getting any better…
Welfare should be a strict program with the same rules as being on parole….
This is another reason I believe it is only fair to the rest of America : I have a chronic, debilitating disorder. I am on medications to controll the pain wich do not get me "high" or give me a "buzz"..they simply keep my pain in controll so I can function and work full time to support myself. I do not get disability and I have never even thought of just sitting home and appling for welfare. As long as I can walk and move, I will continue to support myself. I have been unemployed for 2 weeks because of a drug test. I am sitting here, waiting for a medical examiner to reexamine my urine to verify that my failed drug test was due to the exacy medication I am on and the exact amount that is supposed to be there. I have legal documents from my physician stating that I an legally prescribed these medications and am not in any way impaired on them. Is this fair or right that I sit here and wait, while going broke and not being able to pay my bills, just because I want to do something for myself and work a full time job that I am highly qualified for… If I wanted to collect welfare, I could just walk into the office, fill out a few papers, and instantly get my bills paid..
It just makes no sense to me.. My pre-employment drug screen showed no sign of any use of any illegal substances..so I am forced by our government to suffer..
It seems like a logical idea but then we as taxpayers would have to pay for drug testing and I’m sure if they tested positive then we would have to pay for rehab or some other crap and then we would have to pay for foster care for their kids while they are in rehab it would just snowball into a huge expensive thing it’s easier to just pay for their habits
I would’ve thought that the govt already does that…at least on the people that look like they might be addicted to controlled substances.
But if they don’t, they definitely should…I don’t want my money being shot up someones arm; the same guy that’ll probably rob me if he got the chance.
However, there’s one thing you need to keep in mind. Drug testing isn’t cheap. The govt could take this money from the welfare fund…but that’ll only aggravate the poor as they’re hardly getting much now. So where will this extra money come from? You got it…US. We’ll bear the burden and be forced to pay more in taxes.
Frankly, I don’t want to pay more in taxes. So I say that we just carry on as we are.
Best idea I’ve heard in a while.
Exactly! Your point is perfect. A drug test before, and maybe even during. Every 6 months or so?
If you need welfare (a program set out to help those who can’t afford to buy groceries or provide essentials for the family) then you should not have money to be buying drugs. People do abuse programs like welfare and WIC, but a drug test would be a good idea to weed out those who are finding money to buy drugs but not money to buy groceries. There are free rehab programs.
NO: The person on welfare does not, and should not have to pass a drug test. In most stated this person is required to be ready to take a job if a suitable job comes about. THIS MEANS THAT THESE PEOPLE HAVE TO LOOK FOR WORK AND WILL BE THROWN OFF WELFARE IF THEY FAIL A HIRING AS A RESULT OF DRUG TEST.
We do not need a rule or law that points us towards searching for reasons to mess up our society more. The system is not broken, PLEASE DON’T TRY TO FIX IT.
I see no reason why not!!!!
I think michigan use to make people take a drug test to get welfare, but our wonderful governor decided that you couldn’t do that because that was against people’s right! I totally agree that people should have to take that test to find out if they are doign drugs or not, you know, I have seen some people that are gettign help but you know they do drugs, and they have money in their pockets but their drugs are more important than their children’s needs. If the don’t do drugs you know if they do make money its not going to the wrong place!
What a great idea! Seriously with ideas like that YOU should run for something!
Yes, definitely.
I totally agree! Awesome Q. You should be in politics (on the "good team" though, of course)!
why would the government sabotage one of their own operations. They make a lot of money off of drug dealers and users.
although it’s a noble idea, it won’t ever f’n happen.
Yes I agree with you, I’m sure it is going to raise a bunch of issues about privacy etc… but i think drug testing any person receiving welfare/government benefits would help stop the misuse of monies that’s meant to help families in need, not families with a need . Sadly those who fail the drug tests are still in need of help, so hopefully if they ever do decide to test for drugs, they thought about the ramifications of punishing these people in a way where their children wont have to go hungry or be homeless because of their parents drug habits.