Drug testing on welfare - Essay Example

Nov 14th Drug testing for welfare was introduced in several s for deterring those people who used drugs from receiving welfare. This was an extremely noble thing for the state legislatures to do because it showed the states’ determination to fight drug abuse in the United States. However, drug testing has come to be highly ineffective and unreliable when it comes to welfare. This legislation has come to be seen as a waste of time and money for various reasons, which shall be discussed in this paper.

Drug testing for welfare has come to be seen as unreliable because it has been found that people, who receive welfare, are not drug users in the United States. Most of the states, which passed this legislation, did so because of the belief that those who received welfare used it to get drugs (Davidson). The legislation was therefore, introduced to deny them the means of getting drugs, something that was thought to be commendable at the time. However, this assumption was found to be untrue, because of all the welfare applicants tested for drugs, only two percent of them tested positive.

This automatically confirmed that this law was ineffective, due to the fact that its intended targets were found to be innocent of what they had been accused. It has now been confirmed that welfare recipients are not the majority drug users in the United States, and this makes the drug testing for welfare policy unconstitutional.The drug-testing program is an extremely expensive process for those states, which have instituted it into their welfare system. The welfare applicants are required to pay for their own tests, and if they are found to be negative, then the state has the obligation to refund them.

This procedure has turned out to be extremely expensive because the majority of applicants have tested negative. The states, therefore, end up spending more than they normally would have if the program had not been put in place. Moreover, this program also has administrative costs, such as paying the staff that run it as well as for the facilities. All these costs are footed by the states, an unnecessary expense; the money would have been put in better use expanding the welfare program to cater for people who need it.

These added costs to the state governments with little result have ensured ineffectiveness of this program.The drug testing for welfare program was put in place to ensure the deterrence of people who have applied for welfare. It was estimated that a large number of people who applied for welfare did not totally need it and that they only applied for it to get money to fund their drug abuse (Neary and Moreno). The intention to deter welfare applicants failed miserably because quite a number of people applied for it after the program was begun.

Since majorities of the applicants were tested negative, the states had to spend even more than anticipated on welfare. This helps to show just how ineffective the drug testing for welfare program is and why it should be repealed.Works CitedDavidson, Lee. "Utah Senate OKs Drug Testing of some Welfare Recipients." The Salt Lake TribuneMar 10 2012. Western Newsstand. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.Neary, Ben & Moreno, Ivan. "States Mull Drug Test for Welfare Recipients." Tulsa World Feb 25 2012. Western Newsstand.Web. 14 Nov. 2012.