Drugs and Welfare

Florida House Passes Welfare Drug Testing Requirement

This news makes me very happy.

Honesty, I don't understand why anyone who isn't on both drugs and government assistance programs would oppose it. The idea is that welfare recipients pay for their drug tests and are reimbursed if they pass it. If you are on drugs, you don't take the test and you don't get welfare. Makes perfect sense to me.

Yes, I've known plenty of folks who sat around their dwellings and indulged in drugs while waiting for their government checks. It always irked me that most of them weren't even trying to get jobs. Some would even use the lion's share of their welfare checks to buy lots of drugs, sell some of it, and use the rest to ride out until the next welfare check day. I understand that banks don't exactly give loans for such start-up businesses, but I have a real problem with dealers financing their operation on taxpayer money. I have more respect for the bloke who collects aluminum cans to support his drinking habit.

I have no idea if this bill will actually make it into law, but I hope it does. I don't buy the "invasion of privacy" argument because it's no more than many employers ask of their job applicants. If there are folks who are on welfare because they can't pass an employment drug test, then maybe having that same test as a prerequisite for welfare might be a big wakeup call for them.

Besides, we all know that a lot of employers don't actually conduct drug tests. It's not a death sentence for these people.