Drug Testing Thesis

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Drug Testing for Public Assistance is for the Better Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and food stamp programs are common place in all fifty states. What was not common until recent years was drug testing being required for recipients to collect their relief. While federal law does not require testing it does permit it. Many states have proposed to do it and many will soon follow suit if the trend continues. In 2011, thirty six states proposed that welfare recipients be screened for drugs before getting their benefits. Three of these states passed legislation, which were received with mixed opinions. Missouri and Arizona passed laws allowing them to screen those whom they suspected of illegal drug use and to date these measures have been generally accepted; evidenced by no lawsuit. In Florida, lawmakers passed a bill that required all beneficiaries to be screened regardless of suspicion. The applicants must…show more content…
Federal regulation would lead to an even bigger divide being driven in between the lower and upper classes of society. If recipients can afford to buy illegal drugs then they can afford to buy their own groceries. The testing is a necessary mechanism because it ensures tax payers that they are not supporting a drug addiction, while still allowing those in need to receive their proper benefits. Works Cited "Drug Testing and Public Assistance." Drug Testing and Public Assistance. National Conference of State Legislature, 16 May 2012. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/human-services/drug-testing-and-public-assistance.aspx>. "State Rankings -- Statistical Abstract of the United States." State Rankings--Statistical Abstract of the United States--Persons Below Poverty Level. United States Census Bureau, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2012.
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