Should people receiving UNEMPLOYMENT benefits or WELFARE be tested for Drugs?
 

Is it possible that someone who uses drugs can also be a RESPONSIBLE member of society?

It is entirely possible for someone who uses drugs can be a responsible member of society. In fact, you can argue some of the biggest druggies have made some of the biggest contributions to society. John Lennon comes to mind.

With that said, yes. I want people on unemployment and welfare to be drug tested. I don't want my tax dollars funding drugs for slackers.

When I was in the Marines.... They did a surprise drug test of my unit. Pretty much everyone failed it.

Should CEO & board members of corporations be drug tested if their business receives any federal assistance or subsidies?

This has been pushed by the right for years and in the 7 states where it's been implemented its been a money sucking failure showing that less than 1% of recipients in all states, but one, tested positive for drugs while the national average for drug use is 9.4%.

"The national drug use rate is 9.4 percent. In these states, however, the rate of positive drug tests to total welfare applicants ranges from 0.002 percent to 8.3 percent, but all except one have a rate below 1 percent."

What 7 States Discovered After Spending More Than $1 Million Drug Testing Welfare Recipients

That being said, I say give all new recipients, excluding parents, a couple months to be depressed do drugs party whatever, because for most, going on assistance is a huge negative life changing event. After the 2 months start regular drug testing. Parents on assistance should be tested right away, and consistently through.

We need expert opinion here, so let's all call brassmonkey in.

Yes.

We also need to test people's IQ's before we allow them to procreate. :2 cents:

the only way it makes sense is if the tests are random... even the most dysfunctional idiot will stay clean for a day or 2 if he knows his benefits will be cut off if he fails the drug test, so no shit that no one is failing those drug tests...

If they start drug testing im gonna fucking starve to death so I hope you're happy

I NEED THOSE OBAMADOLLARS MOTHERFUCKERS

Only drug test the white people on welfare.

What happened to the people who flunked?

Good point re random sampling

Also, there are all sorts of products available that NEUTRALIZE the tests

I think they got office hours or something similar. That is just a minor slap on the wrist - extra duty and a small fine.

Agreed. these cracked out honkies must be stopped

Definitely yes to testing, no more gravy train for Crockett.

I wonder how many of you here on GFY smoke crack.

Does that include being legally drugged up on pills?

Should the unemployed be allowed to not contribute anything in return for benefits? Far better question seeing the way the West is heading.

Well, they'lll sure drug test the hell out of you if you apply for any halfway decent job. So why the hell not drug test people who apply for unemployment and/or welfare benefits? If I can't take drugs to cope with the daily stress of my 9 to 5, they shouldn't be able to take drugs to cope with the burden of playing Xbox till 6am, 7 days per week.

And while they're at it, might as well test them for citizenship too.

should outsourcers be allowed to take their pension out of the country and spend the money abroad? :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Was Rochard in the marines?

And if they are found to be on drugs, they get food stamps etc instead of cash

People seem to forget unemployment benefits arent welfare. Its something you pay for from your paycheck everytime you get paid.

In the US, they paid for those benefits it was taken from their check every week. Its a myth people are just living the good life on unemployment is beyond stupid. Here in my state the max is $275 a week and you have to be making over 50k to get that. So if you are used to making 50k and are getting $275 a week, you arent living the good life.

Unemployment.no,you are entitled to that benefit as you paid into it.Welfare yes,the taxpayers are paying for it

Unemployment, no.

Welfare (cash, food stamps, medical, corporate assistance and subsidies) yes... Randoms. No more free rides for these ghetto crackheads, backwoods methheads, the lazy type of stoners and the pompous drugged out big wigs. Fail, and you must complete program/rehab. Fail to complete program/rehab, no more benefits. Skip/avoid a random, no more benefits.

Obviously those with prescriptions for pharmaheroin and such should get an entire separate free ride from money paid for by the taxation of workers in the medical field until their prescriptions are up or are deemed permanently disabled or some shit. Medical work tax or something that pays for the free ride of those disabled via current prescription, call it pharmaceutically disabled assistance or whatever.

Just a 2 minute thought but seems I like it'll keep them from scamming welfare and lights a 🔥 under asses for cures and solutions instead of extended prescriptions for 💰.

if you are doing drugs:
a. you are unlikely to have enough energy/motivation/focus/etc to conduct a successful job search
b. you are unlikely to give off a good impression to potential employer while high/hungover/in withdrawal/etc
c. many companies drug test new hires, so even if you overcome a. / b. you won't get hired anyway

the objective of "unemployment benefits" is to give someone temporary support while they search for another job... but if you are doing drugs, you are far less likely to be successful, completely defeating the whole point of this government program...

Yes but not to ciminalize. Tested to be provided more help.

If they contribute more in taxes than they take out and their contribution was above the per capita average. Then fine. You'll find that a lot of unemployed never reached those standards.

YourState has it right.

However, there's more to doing work than getting a paycheck. Keeps people focussed, motivated and shows them giving back to society. Also looks great on a CV when people go for interviews.

You must be living in the past or not a country most of us know. Unemployment or a minimum wage job that hardly pays the bills, is fast becoming the norm for some people.

Other than being pissy about other people working less hard than oneself, why would anyone want to pay more in taxes, just to stop poor people from taking chemical comfort?

Everyone does understand that this has been tested and shown to cost more money, right?

it might be the "right" thing to do? drug testing identifies people that may have a drug problem and so help can be offered to them so they can become productive members of society again?

"cost more" is a bit misleading too...
1. testing is non-random, so it doesn't effectively identify drug users
2. how is "cost more" calculated anyway? short term it may cost more indeed, cause all the costs are up front... but the benefits are spread over many years...

isn't it pretty clear that someone who is unemployed, has a drug problem and has free $$ coming in each month will never get out of the hole he is in by himself? so isn't it the "right" thing to do to try to help him, not just to prevent him from leeching off the taxpayer for what likely will be rest of his life, but to just help the guy?

Just the testing system, when tried, cost much more than simply giving people their government benefits.

There is no discussion of rehab, just of denying benefits to people who fail a drug test.

Someone can fail a drug test without having a drug problem. I'm sure I regularly hire people who consume the occasional beer, joint, or line.

Occasional users will fail a drug test without needing help in that area.

In the UK, almost all homeless are white.

I don't think they bother with testing for anything.

^ Nationalist groups have cottoned onto the racial aspect of homelessness

You raise some great points. The whole point of cash assistance is to ASSIST and you raise a great point about taking ASSISTANCE to the next level. In other words, helping is just setting up a system and a process, it also means EXPECTING RESULTS / STANDARDS.

Welfare recipients should have to do community service work for the city/county/state to continue to get the benefits. Once they have to work for the money, maybe a decent percentage will decide its better to work a regular job for more money instead. And if not, at least the money is getting some production for the governments.

The govt. shouldn't be able to drug test anybody. Nobody should.

There is a 4th amendment to the Constitution...and I believe that any drug test, any breathalizer test, etc. is a direct violation of the constitution.

That's why you actually have a choice to take them or not.
Of course the govt. has figured out that they can penalize you for NOT taking them. So everybody falls in line and allows their work or govt. to take their blood (or you lose your job)...or take a breathalyzer when you get pulled over (or you go to jail).

So yeah, the govt. COULD require a drug test for welfare.

But all of the above "testing" is very much against the intentions of the Constitution.

How could there be any more drastic of an invasion of privacy than drug testing? :(

Our "freedom" isn't exactly Freedom. You are "free" to do whatever you like...unless religious fanatics disapprove. :(

One other thing...the epidemic of drug use these days is prescription opioids.
How the hell is "drug testing" for cocaine (which folks on welfare probably can't afford) and pot (also expensive as hell these days) having any effect on the REAL problem of prescription pills?

Trump disagrees with you and he's making mandatory drug testing federal law next week. So much for land of the free. Thanks Donald!

Trump to Sign Off on Expanding Drug Tests for the Unemployed

Obama restricted who states could drug test, limiting it only to those in professions that require drug testing as a condition of employment.

Trump is giving states the right to test everybody, or anyone the state chooses. So southern states could only test blacks in poor neighborhoods the same way they illegally tried to limit their voting rights until the court found it unconstitutional.

"The Senate on Tuesday sent President Donald Trump a measure to expand the number of applicants for jobless benefits who can be drug-tested.

The White House has said Trump will sign the measure into law as a cancellation of "unnecessary regulations.""

In most cases I agree but drug tests can be useful in some cases. My brother works in commercial construction. There are times when someone screwing up could seriously injure or kill people. I think the company has the right to know that their employees aren't coming to a dangerous work site high or drunk so they drug test when you are hired and then randomly throughout the year. If there is an accident on a site everyone on that site is tested immediately.

Neither Obama nor Trump can force anyone to drug test.
But our society has allowed federal, state, local govt.'s to penalize you if you don't. (lose your job or benefits).
Also we have (like a bunch of sheep) allowed insurance companies to dictate that businesses drug test people as well.

The whole thing is disgusting. And as I said (and you ignored in your anti-Trump hysteria)...what use is testing for pot and cocaine when the REAL problem is prescription drugs and addiction?

129 people a day die from an overdose. The overwhelming majority from prescription opioids.

Instead of drug testing people...we need to get educated on addiction and start treating it like the disease it is.

People partying by smoking a joint or doing a line aren't the problem in our society. It's the relatively small percentage of people who have that certain gene that causes addiction who are the ones who need help.
Those alcoholics and narcotic addicts are destroying their families and killing themselves and DO cost society a lot of money.

Drug testing for pot and coke has nothing to do with any of that.