The Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Drug Testing

Through the past class periods we have learned about all the different criteria required to meet in order to have a good policy. There are many but if the policy being past can meet as many of the criteria the more likely it is to be effective. A hot topic right now includes required drug testing for those wanting welfare and taking a deeper look into whether this policy will actually be effective. The video we watched from PBS discussed some pros and cons of enforcing drug testing for those who want welfare and the struggles a bill like that will face. We heard a couple of stories of mother discussing how they feel judged every day for using government aid and are assumed that since they are poor they are more likely to be using drugs. Now

I feel this is very cut and dry that this policy will be effective to determine that the people using drugs will not get aid while everyone who is clean will. To continue on, with the criteria we can look at how costly this policy will be. Now this varies depending at who you look at. For the government either they break even or gain money. Everyone who is to get welfare has to pay for their drug test and if they past then they are reimbursed but if they fail they don’t get any money back. So basically, if you are clean you pay nothing but who knows how long it will take to get reimbursed when that person could be using that money right then for items they may

The whole point of this program is to help those who cannot afford basic living expenses, so what I do not understand is why we require them to pay for a drug test at all? These people already need help with money, so in order to get help with money they have to spend money? That’s like a college student paying to get a scholarship for college tuition. The drug testing is also just for the poor assuming that since they are poor that they must be lazy drug users. One of the articles I found while researching was “The poor are treated like criminals everywhere, even at the grocery store”. The author Jeanine Lister talks about how much regulation is on the food stamps that the government controls what food can be bought with the stamps, for example no cookies. They also have to go in regularly for health checkups and have to relinquish all personal information on the person’s status like a criminal. We also learn from reading that a very small percent of poor people on welfare actually use drugs. In Utah 4,730 people were tested and only 12 failed the drug test (Washington Post). There is a stigma that poor people are just lazy and up to no good with drugs which is not treating them fair at