More to dispel the myth that welfare recipients are druggies...

[petch751]

Originally Posted by FKD19124

If I have to be drug tested to get a job, they should be tested as well.

Yep, I heard a liberal arguing against drug testing welfare recipients. His argument was if you do it you have to do it across the board. Many people have to get drug tested to get their job and with surprise drug test. So yes, I agree with the liberal, if they have to why not welfare recipients?

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by Wayland Woman

$74,000 it cost the State in the first four months to test 1,300 people find those 29 people. That doesn't sound like a very good use of state fund considering they will have to keep on spending that kind of money on an on-going basis. And once found, did they offer any kind of treatment to help those 29 get off drugs?

Unless someone wants off the junk more than anything else, treatment is not effective.
The overwhelming majority of people addicted to hard drugs ,who receive treatment, relapse.

Families take on second mortgages and incur substantial debt to stage an intervention and put a loved one into treatment, only to see their loved one relapse time and again.

It is nearly impossible to accurately diagnose underlying conditions, let alone treat them, while someone is using or initially abstaining from hard core substances. The earlier in life someone gets on the path of addiction, the more likely their cognition has arrested. The ability to cope with life, as it is, without substance, is a lifelong challenge.

The best description of addiction, I heard came from an addict who said, he needed drugs the way I need air to breathe. And given a choice, he would choose his drug of choice.

[CravingMountains]

I love it. So many people yapping on this forum about people on government assistance being on drugs. I've been saying for years and years how wrong they were and they wanted to hear no part of it. I'm so glad that numerous sources of proof now back up what I was saying so conservatives will shut up about it.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider275452

All of the drugs you mention with the exception of marijuana are out of your system within 24-48 hours and there are ways to beat the THC tests. I would agree people using welfare for short term, a bridge to a better life are not addicts or lazy, but it may be a different story with generational welfare recipients.

Written tests to identify those who have the highest potential to be addicted is a waste of time and money. Best case, a clean pee tests proves one thing, the person tested was likely clean at the point of the test, unless the tested person gamed the test. It's the kind of thing that some governments do to create the perception they are tough on welfare.

Most substance cannot be detected in urine or saliva within hours or days of use, depending on the drug and amount of usage.

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. Hair follicle testing can look back up to 3 months. It would be cheaper to do this kind of testing instead of the pre test and urine test.

Private schools increasingly perform random hair follicle testing on students. Parents and students acknowledge this as a condition of admission. Such testing could become a condition of application and continued benefits for welfare.

Regardless, when a test detects substance and the person tested has minor children, the children are not cut off of future benefits. And it's the adult who receives those benefits on behalf of the children. No doubt, some of these adults sell or trade benefits for cash or drugs.

Having said all this, I do not believe that most recipients of welfare benefits are drug addicts. It would be worthwhile for a few states to hair follicle test new applicants and existing beneficiaries over a 2 year period to see if the number of new applicants substantially declines and/or a substantial number of ongoing beneficiaries are found to be drug users.

If I am mistaken and a substantial number of existing beneficiaries are found to be drug addicts, what is the state going to do about future benefits for the minors within the household? Will the situation warrant increased monitoring? Will the children be removed from the home and put into the system? How will that be funded?

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Too bad there isn't stats on how many refused to apply knowing they wouldn't pass.