Pros And Cons Of Drug Testing

The United States economy is in trouble and when money is not pooling in people's bank accounts, the need to cut down on extra expenses is critical. In these rough times where people are losing their houses, going bankrupt, and having a hard time budgeting, “...about 15 percent of the U.S. population—[is] currently [living] below the poverty line...”(Francis “Where Do You Fall In the American Economic Class System?”). And 35.4 percent of Americans qualify for welfare as of the 2012 census(Jeffrey “The 35.4 Percent: 109,631,000 on Welfare”). Those elected into public office are put under extreme pressure, by the people who they intend to lead and by the men and women who are keeping their eyes on them from the capital, to try and alleviate …show more content…
Different people, both politicians and the common citizens alike, have unique ideas to fix the economy, and drug testing before receiving welfare is one of them. Although it is still not fully agreed upon, many statistics show that the disadvantages heavily outweigh the benefits of drug testing. Drug testing has been a highly debated topic in the U.S. for quite some time now. From the well known government officials to the middle and lower class citizens, people of all different backgrounds have had their say, and there are plenty of opinions that express strong feelings regarding these tests. But statistics uncover the real truth about the success of welfare drug testing. For example, loopholes exist within the system itself that many use to the fullest extent. Also, the “high” number of drug abusers on welfare is not what it is made out to be, and the money the country spends rarely yields a high number of drug abusing applicants. On top of that, it is actually unconstitutional under the fourth amendment. With those thoughts in mind, it can be stated that welfare drug testing is not an efficient or …show more content…
In about 1996, laws were made to help protect the children of drug abusing parents that claim welfare each month, along with the passage of the Contract With America Advancement of 1996 which further evaluated welfare recipients with drug or alcohol history(“Welfare”). To accomplish the preservation of the child care law, the children are given a way to still receive that money even if their parent does not qualify for the welfare support. For example, if a parent tests positive for drug abuse, the money that the kids need will be given to a trusted family member to ensure that the kids are taken care of. It seems like a suitable way to protect and take care of the helpless children, but there is a problem with this system. In one instance, as stated in the article “Drug Testing for Welfare,” a woman who had received the money had been reported giving it back to the guilty party and thus creating a serious hole in the operations of drug testing. This means that the money that should not be received by the alleged drug abuser, is making its way back to them and in turn, if used for drugs, squanders taxpayers money. Because of this, spending any more time or money on a seemingly broken system with such major flaws as mentioned, should be