I’m 100% on board with you when it comes to firming up welfare policies. For me, personally, I don’t like it when someone has a child when they go on welfare, and 5 children when they are still on welfare 5 years later. But I digress.

I believe that drug testing violates our civil liberties, period. I don’t think you should have to do it, or anyone else for that matter. Based upon this, I really would like to avoid getting caught up in drug testing arguements before we accomplish a more widespread decriminalization – particularly in conjunction with the completely seperate and equally controversial topic of welfare.

Mike

I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem.

Nobody should be required to prove what is in their body without a warrant. The fact that you have no problem with surrendering one of your essential liberties does not provide a solid platform for arguing with me about wanting to take away poor people’s essential liberties.

Part of this is a misunderstanding about the nature of welfare and poverty. I survived because my folks got us Food Stamps and WIC. Both my parents worked their ass off, but at the time, my father was a drug addict (alcohol and speed).

Now, let’s get in a time machine and force Russ’s dad to take a piss test for Russ’s mom to be able to get the food to feed two schoolage kids. Guess what? Russ’s dad wouldn’t pass and Russ and his brother would’ve been even more malnourished than we were. Russ’s mom might’ve had to take a third job to make ends meet, and none of this would’ve made an iota of difference in getting Russ’s dad off booze and crosstops.

Shorter: Drug testing for welfare recipients hurts the children of the addict and does nothing for rehabilitation.

Most people who receive welfare assistance receive it temporarily (less than two years) and are people who have worked before, during, and after receiving welfare. The Cadillac-driving “welfare queen” was a myth created by Ronald Reagan.

Another part of this is the authoritarian lack of compassion encapsulated by the bumper sticker mentality of “Work Harder: Millions on Welfare Are Depending On You!” Nearly everyone among us not lucky enough to have a trust fund is one major life event away from poverty and homelessness. Social programs like Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and such are not some odious punishment exacted against the Noble Productive Citizens by the Parasitic Welfare Class. These programs are the “There but for the grace of God go I” insurance we all pay to insure a reasonably compassionate society that prefers the streets don’t overflow with disease-ridden children and dying elderly. Think of welfare as the insurance policy society buys to mitigate the risk of angry starving poor people rushing the gated communities with pitchforks and torches to get food for their starving kids.

And against the backdrop of poverty, how cruel is it that you’d make people starve and live in the streets for using the intoxicant least harmful to their health and least likely to cause social problems! Your drug testing for welfare idea would only move poor people off of cannabis, which tests positive for weeks, and on to dangerous drugs like crack, meth, alcohol, heroin, or inhalants which flush out of the system rather quickly.

Finally, you say,

…if you have the money to buy drugs apparently you have enough money and don’t need mine!

Maybe not. Maybe they sell weed and their payment is enough stash for themselves. It’s more likely they actually make some money from marijuana, rather than pay out any money. You should be more upset at a great untaxed unreported income being made by the few welfare recipients who sell drugs. Were marijuana legalized, many jobs would be created for these people right in their own neighborhoods and perhaps welfare expenditures would go down. With legalized weed, fewer businesses would exclude workers who use it, and there’s be more jobs for people.

Basically I say legalize pot….however….if you have the money to buy drugs apparently you have enough money and don’t need mine!