Just Say No to Mandatory Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients

Did you know that more people live off of welfare benefits than a paycheck? The United States Census revealed that in 2011, “101,716,000 people worked full-time year round while 108,592,000 people in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2011 were recipients of one or more government benefits program” (Jeffrey, 2013). However, the most recent recession highlighted the importance of government assistance to all Americans since many respected drug free middle class families began to apply for benefits due to job losses. Unfortunately, legislatures in 23 states in the United States have been pushing for laws to get applicants for government assistance drug tested in order to receive cash assistance. This proposed bill is based on the fact that for decades, welfare recipients have been depicted as lazy drug addicts who do not want to work, and it is a preconceived notion that people are only on food stamps because they spend their money on drugs instead of feeding their children. As a result, many Americans who need temporary assistance to support their families now argue that mandatory drug testing is unconstitutional and a waste of taxpayers’ money. Nonetheless, mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients should not be implemented in every state since it violates the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, it is not cost effective for taxpayers, and only drug testing companies benefit from the requirement.

Since 1997, the federal government has allowed eligible people to qualify for cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. To be eligible for this benefit, a family had to have an income below the poverty level requirement. However, even when families did receive cash assistance, the funds were not enough to support a family’s needs. Williamson and McCray (2013) found that “a family of three in Missouri would receive $292 per month, while Tennesseans receive just $185.” This extremely low amount of money does not cover housing and other necessities not covered by cash assistance, and it is certainly not enough money to supply a drug addict with a month’s work of drugs. Now, legislatures in 23 states are pushing for laws that mandate that those who apply for cash assistance must pass a drug test in order to qualify for benefits.

This bill is based on the fact that “welfare is 100 percent about helping children. Welfare is taxpayer money to help people looking for jobs who have children. Drug use by anyone with children looking for a job is totally destructive. This is fundamentally about protecting the well-being of families” (Sanders, 2013). Although the government reimburses applicants for the drug testing fees, a majority of Americans believe that these laws are singling out poor people and that mandatory drug testing is unconstitutional since applicants, such as those applying to college, have higher rates of substance abuse problems but do not have to submit to a drug test.

Being forced to submit to a drug test violates the Fourth Amendment of our Constitution which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause. When a person applies for cash assistance and is mandated to take a drug test in order to receive benefits, there is no probable cause for the testing except for the fact that welfare recipients are stereotyped to be on drugs. However, the government mandates that anyone on welfare must waive their right to government interference when receiving assistance. Once the government “offers a benefit that it is permitted but not compelled to provide, such as direct subsidies or exemptions from regulation or taxations, it is conditioned on the recipient of the benefit performing or foregoing an activity which he has autonomous choice to participate in and which a preferred constitutional right normally protects from government interference” (Wurman, 2013). This clause violates the fourth amendment since people must give consent to search and seizures, and drug testing falls under this right. As a result, requiring people to take a drug test to receive cash assistance is “subjecting people who are receiving public benefits to government intrusion” and violating their Fourth Amendment to autonomously participate in the testing (Alcindor, 2012). If an applicant has a confirmed history of drug abuse and fraud, then this would be a reasonable cause to drug test an applicant. Conversely, just because one applicant has a history of substance abuse does not give the government the right to intrude into the lives of others without a probable cause.

In addition, if all applicants for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program are drug tested, taxpayers will be losing a substantial amount of money to reimbursements when tests come out negative. Williamson and McCray (2013) found that after three months of Florida implementing drug testing for government benefits, “only 2.6% of benefits recipients tested positive for drug use.” A closer look into these statistics determined that “108 out of 4,086 cash assistance applicants in Florida failed drug tests, and the state’s outlay was $118,140” (Yaccino, 2013). This data not only proves that there is a small percentage of poor people abusing substances, but it also shows the high amount of taxpayer dollars wasted to test applicants. The taxpayer’s money could be allocated to fund other programs, such as job training and substance abuse programs. Instead, the only people really benefiting from mandatory drug testing are the drug testing companies.

When welfare recipients are tested for substances, the samples need to be sent to a laboratory to be tested for drugs. According to Alcindoir (2012), each test costs between $8 and $12. Since thousands of people apply for welfare benefits throughout our country each month, drug testing companies are reaping the rewards and these businesses are receiving all of our taxpayer’s hard earned money. If the government continues to pass laws that mandate drug testing, then the testing should be conducted in the state office buildings where the applicants apply for government assistance. The outcome of this solution would be to decrease the costs of the tests while reducing the amount of taxpayers’ money that is being handed over to drug testing companies when the specimens are sent out to be examined.

Nevertheless, while many Americans do not want to be stereotyped as a drug addict or have their Fourth Amendment rights violated just because they are in need of cash assistance to provide for their family, supporters of mandatory drug testing bills continue to push for the passing of this law. Williamson and McCray (2013) explained that “proponents of the bills have argued that drug testing protects taxpayers from the possibility that recipients of public benefits are spending their hard-earned money on drugs.” While no taxpayer wants their hard earned money spent on supporting an addict’s habit, the fact remains that cash assistance was created to help the unemployed support their family and every citizen is entitled for these benefits.

In addition, it must be noted that an addict cannot support their drug habit on cash assistance benefits alone. For example, $185 will only buy around three grams of cocaine, and most addicts will use this amount of drugs in one day. However, when taxpayers are paying over $100,000 in a three-month period to drug test welfare applicants, they are realistically spending more money to identify a habit instead of funding one. As a result, if taxpayers want to save their money, then all welfare applicants could be subjected to a background check. Those who have a history of drug problems would be ineligible to receive benefits, and taxpayers would save money on supporting a possible addiction and funding drug testing companies. On the other hand, another solution would be to limit the amount of cash assistance and to increase the amount of food stamps. Doing this would ensure that government benefits are only being spent to provide food for children in a family since government programs do not allow recipients to withdraw cash from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program accounts.

Overall, mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients should not be implemented in every state since it violates the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, it is not cost effective for taxpayers, and only drug testing companies benefit from the requirement.

Alternatives to this law include conducting background checks on welfare applicants and rejecting those with a history of drug abuse and fraud, and allocating money to job training and substance abuse prevention programs. Nevertheless, even if the courts continue to overturn laws that mandate drug testing for welfare recipients, those living below the poverty line will continue to be stereotyped as drug addicts.

References

Alcindoir, Y. (2012). States consider drug testing welfare recipients. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-17/welfare-food-stamps- drug-testing-laws/53306804/1

Jeffrey, T.P. (2013). Census bureau: Means-tested Gov’t benefit recipients outnumber full-time year round workers. CSN News. Retrieved from http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/census-bureau-means-tested-govt-benefit-recipients-outnumber-full

Sanders, K. (2013). State loses another round in fight for drug-testing welfare recipients. Politifact. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/florida/promises/scott-o- meter/promise/600/require-drug-screening-for-welfare-recipients/

Williamson, J., & McCray, R. (2013). As the “drug testing dragnet” widens, the poor continue to be swept in. ACLU. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-racial-justice/drug-testing-dragnet-widens-poor-continue-be-swept

Wurman, I. (2013). Unconstitutional conditions and drug testing welfare recipients. Jurist. Retrieved from http://jurist.org/dateline/2013/03/ilan-wurman-drug-testing.php

Yaccino, S. (2013). Drug tests falter as way for states to deny public aid. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/26/us/state-drug-tests-for-public-aid-recipients-have-limited-effect.html?_r=1&