Should drug testing be required as part of filing for state benefits, such as food stamps, cash assistance and the like?
You know I have an opinion...but I won't share until I've seen what others have to say. Anyone who knows me can already guess where I stand on this topic. I'll share my thoughts --added directly to this post -- this weekend.
10 comments:
In a word, yes! I live in a distresses part of town. The lady across the street lets people take her food stamp card to the store. For every 100.00 they spend on groceries, they give her 50.00 in cash. She uses this money to buy drugs. This is not hear say.She has offered it to me and I have refused. I have tried to help her numerous times. I have paid her heat bill, her electric bill. Bought her medicine and clothes for her daughter. At any given time some utility is cut off and yet she always has pot money and pill money. If she was drug tested, the use would have to stop. Her daughter would not be sittng in the cold in the winter and she would have food, what a concept, in the fridge that was working because they had electricity. I have watched her child cry and cried with her for the last 3 years. And I have watched this life style suck her beautiful, inteligent child in and change her for the worse.
You don't have to post this as it is very personal, but YES, YES, YES! They need to drug test.
Dawn
I absolutely think that testing should be mandatory....b/c if not all your doing is helping to feed that person's addictions. I've heard of people even selling their food stamp cards for drugs...crazy!
My husband and I were just discussing this. We both wonder how people can get state assistance without drug tests! My husband's work place requires drug tests at any given time, if he didn't pass he would be fired immediatly, no pay, end of story. My husband and I also thought it would be great if anyone who received help received it in a similar way to biblical times. Why not have them work to earn their food (along the lines of gleaning) or something like that? Just my thoughts. I just found your blog and I'm enjoying it already!
I absolutely think so. Like already posted, people will sell their food stamps, etc. in exchange for drugs. I understand there are junkies out there with kids to feed, but if they are junkies then their kids aren't getting much in the way to nourishment to begin with. Addicts care very little about anyone but themselves. There would likely be children suffering, and that's a tragic thing, but no matter what we do the children are going to suffer from the sins of their parents. If you are getting assistance from my husband and my tax dollars, you ought to be able to at least be clean. They used to call that personal responsibility.
My personal thought is yes, because that person is showing that they have/will get the monies for their drug issues and that drugs are more important then buying food. I work for a store and see every day people that have food stamps/ cash assistance but they always have money to buy beer and such... it's sad. It's one thing to work hard and not be able to make ends meet verses sitting back and doing nothing and expect the state/government to support you...
Hmmm....the real question is what do you do if they fail? What happens to the children?
hmmmm... the real question is, what do you do if they fail? What happens to the children? Kick them off of assistance and let innocents starve?
That's hard. I would say yes right off the bat, but then I also think that maybe we should not assume that all that need help are druggies. I know some families that need help, they have pride and to be drug tested would just be one more blow to them. Maybe not for food stamps ( Now it's a debit card, harder to sell) but if you are on the full system (Rent help, day care ect) then yes. Maybe if your on assistance for less then three months no, then after that period is up you get tested. Also maybe the person should also show proof that they have been looking for a job.
Drugs and welfare are huge problems where we live. I don't know why we are not already testing people for drugs who are getting assistance. In most cases, by far, if the one getting the assistance is on drugs, then the children in the home are already in danger. From families that I have know personally, assistance just feeds the monster of addiction. It allows them to have all the free time in the world to find a way to get high. These children are already ignored and are usually going hungry anyway because their parents are too high to care for them. If someone can not stay sober long enough to draw assistance to live and survive for themselves and their children, why should we think that they would care for those kids anyways?
@Joy comes in the morning: The problem with that logic is that it is essentially arguing that we shouldn't care about human life because they don't. For example, with abortion: "Why should we think they would care for those kids anyways?" As Christians we "do" care and that's the point. Letting innocents go hungry because we want to punish Drug users is not the answer. Assistance programs like WIC and food stamps were originally started because there were thousands of children going hungry. Also, in reality a "hard-core" drug user would know how to by-pass these kinds of tests anyhow--so essentially it would be flushing MORE money down the drain.
Post a Comment