Drug Testing Welfare Recipients

1502 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Mandatory drug screenings in social assistance programs

Drug Testing Welfare Recipients: Unconstitutional
“A closed mouth doesn’t get fed” is a saying that many people have heard throughout life. This saying was brought about to encourage people to ask for help if needed. But what happens when the open mouth asked to be fed, and instead of receiving help they are forced to be demeaned by going through a rigorous process that assumes that all applicants fall in to the category of drug addicts? Guilty until proven innocent is the message conveyed to persons requesting these services. Millions of dollars are spent each year on federally funded programs that are considered “welfare”. The types of services these programs offer include TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and more. In hopes to detour those that use illegal narcotics from obtaining these services to fund their addiction, many states have either implemented or considered implementation of new procedures to follow when applying for these benefits; conducting mandatory drug screenings on individuals that apply for government assistant. Due to the overwhelming number of persons receiving welfare benefits, most lawmakers have drafted proposals mandating drug testing among applicants; this requirement is unconstitutional and should be revoked.
A disorder that has drawn the concern of lawmakers is the substance abuse and dependency among welfare recipients. In an effort to identify illegal drug use amongst this population, lawmakers have proposed the use of chemical testing (Pollack, Danzinger, Rukmalie, & Seefeldt, 2002). In Missouri this procedure is already in effect. In July of 2011, Governor Jay Nixon signed the bill into law. The repercussions for testing posi...

... middle of paper ...

...though I must admit that there were two reading assignments that helped me through this entire process all the time. Understanding Tone and Voice in Writing and the Citing Sources Tutorial were two sections I would continuously go over while editing my papers. Distinguishing the difference between reliable and unreliable resources will be one of the sections that help me the most professionally. I am currently enrolled in the Paralegal Studies and in that line of work it is imperative that I ensure the information that I am receiving and/or gathering is reliable. The writing skills that I have acquired through this course will allow me to draft clear and concise reports. On a personal level, this course has also raised my confidence and stopped the blanket of stress that overcomes me when I am unsure of how to effectively help my children with their homework.

Show More
Related

  • Prop. 36 The Real Truth

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    It ties the hands of judges, hurts legitimate treatment, and effectively decriminalizes heroin, methamphetamine and other illegal drugs. Drug courts hold drug abusers accountable with regular drug testing and consequences for failing treatment— accountability not found in Proposition 36.” Drug testing is a part of court-supervised drug treatment everywhere in California today, and it will continue to be under Proposition 36. There are no legal barriers to drug testing. Judges can and will order appropriate levels of testing of offenders placed in treatment under the initiative's system; Proposition 36 simply does not tie judges' hands by prescribing a one-size-fits-all regimen for all offenders.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Mass Incarceration

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mandatory minimums for controlled substances were first implemented in the 1980s as a countermeasure for the hysteria that surrounded drugs in the era (“A Brief History,” 2014). The common belief was that stiff penalties discouraged people from using drugs and enhanced public safety (“A Brief History,” 2014). That theory, however, was proven false and rather than less illegal drug activity, there are simply more people incarcerated. Studies show that over half of federal prisoners currently incarcerated are there on drug charges, a 116 percent percentage rise since 1970 (Miles, 2014). Mass incarceration is an ever growing issue in the United States and is the result of policies that support the large scale use of imprisonment on

    Read More

  • Mandatory Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients and Public Assistance

    2059 Words  | 5 Pages

    "States Consider Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients." FoxNews.com - Breaking News | Latest News | Current News. 26 March 2009. Web. 31 January 2011

    Read More

  • A Stand Against Wikipedia

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Students face “an ocean of information” today, much of it of poor quality, so a better approach would be to teach students how to “triangulate” a source like Wikipedia, so they could use other sources to tell whether a given entry could be trusted. “I think our goal should be to equip students with the critical thinking skills to judge.”

    Read More

  • Substance Abuse in Pregnant Women

    1862 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the late 1970’s a movement began with state prosecutors using child abuse, endangerment statues and charges of provisions of drugs to a minor to prosecute pregnant women who used illicit substances during their pregnancies. The prosecution of a pregnant heroine user in the State of California with a felony child endangerment charge was one of the first of such prosecutions in 1977 (Stone-Manista, 2009, pp.823-856). This was the catalyst for the often biased punishment of pregnant drug addicts under the scope of the law. It is this vein of prosecution that struck ...

    Read More

  • My Growth As A Writer

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout this course, we had multiple assignments that were aimed at improving us as writers. I am sure that everyone took something different from this course, and I am sure that each student took more from some areas than others; however for me there were three major things that I saw that I benefited from most. Our weekly craft lessons, grammar plan, but most of all, observational learning. Our weekly craft lessons have introduced us to multiple writing strategies. These strategies have helped turn my papers from elementary papers that were written below my expected grade level to papers more on par with my peers.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Incarceration

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    Now is not the time for the United States federal government to decriminalize or legalize illegal drugs, including marijuana. However, nor can the government continue to do nothing about the financially, economically, and socially expensive domestic drug policy it currently follows. The United States Congress should pass legislation to remove mandatory minimum penalties from drug offenses, and the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons should add in-house rehabilitation programs for its incarcerated drug offenders. These policies would increase the cost-effectiveness of current drug policy and reduce crime and drug use, and do not face the political obstacles or have the uncertain consequences of decriminalizing or legalizing drugs.

    Read More

  • The Drug Issue in Australia

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Government needs to draw the line somewhere. In Sweden the Government was giving out free heroin, in order to keep the drugs free from being impure. However, Margaret McKay (2001) declares that if we follow in same steps, soon we will be giving out not only free heroin, but also other illegal substances as well. It will then lead to problems with other drugs as well.

    Read More

  • Nonviolent Drug Crimes

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    The harsh punishment for drug crimes in the United States of America is not working. “With roughly half a million people behind bars in the U.S. for nonviolent drug offenses, drugs are as plentiful and widely used as ever” (Grenier, 2013). Even with very harsh long sentences and many people imprisoned drug use is as common as ever in America. ‘We cannot close our eyes anymore’ to the cost in human lives destroyed and taxpayer dollars wasted” (Holcomb, 2015). Harsh drug penalties are destroying American citizens lives and is costing a lot of money from taxpayers. “Yet, people who want treatment can often expect to endure an obstacle course just to get help” (Grenier, 2013). The Unites States government is spending a large amount of money on arresting and imprisoning drug users, yet are putting little to no focus on funding drug medical help for

    Read More

  • Government Welfare Benefits

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    “States Consider Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients.” Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly 21.8 (2009): 4-6 Academic Search Premir. Web. 28 Sept. 2015

    Read More

  • What I Learned in My Freshman Class of Composition 1

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    The most important hurdle to overcome in the course was mainly myself and my old writing habits. Adjusting to the course is a goal that one needs to overcome post-haste, the more time it takes one to adjust, the worse your grade will be. A critical aspect of adjusting is the ability to change the writing requirements based on what class one is in. By figuring out the appropriate text to use in each class, it would help one adjust to the course faster. In my history class, writing is mainly facts piled on other facts with no set of techniques, while writing class involves a lot more critical thinking. I extremely enjoyed this course because I found that I can express my own personal views while maintaining the foundation of my papers.

    Read More

  • The drug control policy of the United States

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    The current situation of drug control in the United States is imperfect and inadequate. Millions of men and women, both young and old, are affected by illicit drug use. It costs the United States about $6,123 every second because of drug use and its consequences (Office). Moreover, 90 percent of all adults with a substance use disorder started using under the age of 18 and half under the age of 15. Children who first smoke marijuana under the age of 14 are five times more likely to abuse drugs as adults than those who first use marijuana at age 18. Finally, the children of alcoholics are four times more likely to develop problems with alcohol (Prevent). Current legislation that has to do with the United States’ drug control policy is the Controlled Substances Act, which regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances (Shannon). In 1966, Congress passed the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act also known as the NARA. This legislati...

    Read More

  • The Consequences Of Drug Addiction

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    Addiction often time leads to an individual’s health declining, their financial security declines. Drug addicts have a hard time keeping a job, which leads to having trouble with the law, and sometimes even leads to being homeless. Drug addiction is a sickness, if it is not being taken serious, and without the right kind of treatment addicts will just find their way back to using, even after they have served their time in prison. The Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy recognizes that addiction is a disease, and that the criminal justice system can play a vital role in reducing the costs and consequences of crimes committed by drug-involved offenders. If drug addicts received proper treatment and proper help needed to overcome the addiction, which will give those individuals a new opportunity to live a clean healthy life, and will contribute to society in a positive

    Read More

  • The failure from the "war on drugs"

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bush's “war on drugs”, an extension to Reagon's former battle, had “crowded the courts, filled the prisons, corrupted law officers, compromised ... civil liberties, and criminalized substantial sectors of American society.” 1 In comparison to the leniency experienced in the late 1960s under Nixon where a “specific sub-culture of some 68,088 identifiable heroin addicts” who, subject to arrest for the possession of the heroin, and successfully convicted, were “sentenced to treatment at the federal hospital in Lexington, Kentucy.”2

    Read More

  • Essay About The Three Modes Of Persuasion

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, I was able to see how arguments are sometimes so broad that you do not know what way to take them. I believe the biggest help to me through this unit was being able to see where in my writing process I have strengths like authority and logic and where my weaknesses lie like emotions. I feel showing more emotions could become a problem for me when it comes to creative writing, if a have to do it, because I am so used to the template academic and research writing styles. This course is definitely helping me to reshape my writing process and how I look at certain sources. Also how I can tell whether a source is useful in terms of logic, authority, and

    Read More

More about Drug Testing Welfare Recipients

Open Document