As more Americans turn to government programs for refuge from a merciless economy, a growing number are encountering a new price of admission to the social safety net: a urine sample.
Policy makers in three dozen states this year proposed drug testing for people receiving benefits like welfare, unemployment assistance, job training, food stamps and public housing. Such laws, which proponents say ensure that tax dollars are not being misused and critics say reinforce stereotypes about the poor, have passed in states including Arizona, Indiana and Missouri.
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.
I’m tired of hearing people whine about having to take a drug test. Military members are subject to drug screening. Transportation workers are subject to drug screening. Many jobs require drug screening as part of the hiring process. Get over it.
The Florida requirement to pay for one’s own drug test sounded pretty harse until I read the explanation:
“The law in Florida, where the average recipient receives $253 a month for less than five months, is more expansive. It requires applicants to pay for their own drug tests, which the state says costs up to $40, and the state will reimburse those who pass. People who fail the test are disqualified for one year — six months if they receive treatment — and are reported to the Florida abuse hot line. Payments to children can continue through another person, like a grandparent.”
False positive rates for drug test are not low; this CBS report gives rates of 5-10%. That’s nice savings for the agency, but pretty uncharitable.
I have a problem with the whole stigmatization of people with drug felonies, especially considering how overcriminalized drug possession is. If they can’t get any kind of assistance, and they can’t get a job, why is it a surprise if they turn to drug-running– or simply medicating themselves out of their miseries?
I worked for five years in a homeless shelter. The vast majority of homeless clients we dealt with suffered either from mental illness or substance abuse problems. I currently teach at a seminary where a number of students testify to having come to Christian faith after having suffered from substance abuse addictions.
Substance abuse is an addiction. Addictions do not go away through either will power, shame, or threat of punishment. Policies like the above may save the state some money. They will do nothing to help either the poor, or those who suffer from addictions.