Resume

Michael Poland

Dr. Clarence Hundley

English 112-D06

February 22nd, 2012

Is it Fair to Drug Test for Welfare?

Welfare is a state of well-being; for some people to obtain this they may require financial assistance from the government known as--welfare. Those who apply for this type of assistance are typically less fortunate: a recently laid off worker, a single mother, and the unskilled worker who cannot make ends meet on minimum wage. As with everything in life, there are people that take advantage of certain situations; as a result, many people abuse welfare as their long-term income. There have been many measures in place over the years to prevent and eliminate welfare fraud. A predominant issue that has been making its way on to legislative tables, in order to prevent welfare fraud, is the implementation of drug testing for welfare applicants. Mandatory drug testing should not be implemented for individuals applying for welfare because it is not a conclusive determination of potential misappropriation of funds, and potentially violates The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Other than the negative assumption implied, there is not a conclusive way to determine that the funds received are used for drugs, thus leading to why mandatory drug testing should not be implemented. A welfare recipient that uses drugs could obtain them by other means: trading their own services, growing their own supply, or simply sharing it from someone else. By no means am I downplaying drug use, but the concern here is using taxpayer funds for these purchases. There is not a conclusive way to prove that.

In addition, drug testing a welfare applicant should not be implemented because it potentially violates The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Fourth Amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and...