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Essay On Welfare Drug Testing

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Millions of Americans are helped with the benefit of government assistance in order to take care of themselves and their families. Welfare has been around for over eight decades, providing financial assistance to those in need. Whether a person is going through a rough patch in life or they have taken advantage of the benefits for many years; welfare has always been available to them with the curtesy of taxpayers. Recent controversy has been brought up on if welfare applicants should have to submit and pass a drug screening in order to gain the privileges of government assistance. According to Washington Crime News Service, “states with some form of drug testing for welfare recipients include Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Oregon”(1). Many Americans are concerned …show more content…

One side to this controversy would be that because of the screenings it would lower and prevent the use of drugs in poverty struck households. Many law officials believe that if a user had to submit to drug test they would get clean because the need for the government assistance would be of greater priority than abusing illegal drugs. Though this may be true in some situations, poor social classes are not the only citizens abusing drugs. It is well known that drugs are abused by people of all social classes. America needs to broaden their view point on this social matter because it effects everyone, not just those who live in poverty. Barlena Cunha once mentioned, “… millions have been helped by hundreds of social services put in place by the government to stabilize families in this time of need. Yet, the states insist upon making the lines between the rich and poor even darker, even harder to cross” (Cunha 1). Forcing drug test to people who apply for assistance is offensive to those who are discriminated in the lower

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That is not what welfare should be used for though, it should be used as an extra last resort support system for an individual until they can get back on their feet. This is why there are so many people on the street and in homeless shelters, because the government is giving them free money. This is why it should in the end be up to private organizations and charity. This is because if it is a small group of people working with the less fortunate they can get to know them individually and try to help them off of welfare or the support that they are getting. Granted there are some things that the less fortunate should have the opportunity to have and that is health care.

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