Beltran 1

Brianna Beltran
Professor Jackie
English 114A
November 11, 2014
The Argument Amongst Welfare and Drugs
Drug Testing on Welfare Recipients has been an ongoing debate topic for a
strong period of time. Allowing this to continue in a large number of states has left this
cause unbalanced. Many states have chosen to drug test citizens in their welfare programs
and others have ignored it. Researching this topic gives different outlooks to the causes of
establishing this law and the consequences of not acknowledging it. The government
should grant citizens the welfare support without the process of drug testing, but they
should also have them provide criminal records and personal information to explain why
they need the government to provide assistance for them and to prevent recipients from
using the money for the wrong reasons.
Austin Keller states in his article that, People applying for welfare programs are
required to provide information such as proof of income, residence, participation in other
similar programs etc.(Keller, Austin, 2014.) He includes this in order to acknowledge
the strict information that people applying for welfare have to provide. Individuals
striving to register for the support of welfare programs should also be required to provide
criminal records, former rehab confirmation, and an evaluation interview. Requiring an
interview to take place will help determine if the information they provided is accurate. If
that person were formerly involved in a program such as rehab, those records will help
clarify whether or not that individual is more likely to purchase useless items such as

Beltran 2
drugs with the money that is meant to help support that being and his family. With
providing this information, it saves the states more money. This information helps
determine which people need the welfare assistance and also lowers the tax amounts for
U.S. taxpayers by not wasting money on drugs or materialistic items and also allows
them to feel more secure about where their money is going. The records will help the
amount of money spent on drug testing to no longer be an issue.
Drug testing can cost thousands of dollars that can be used towards other
sufficient causes such as rehab and cure centers for drug addicts, education, financial aid,
and environmental causes. According to an article by Bryce Covert, Utah spent more
than $30,000 in the year that turned up just 12 drug users. In July, Tennessee began a
drug-testing program for applicants to the states welfare program. Just one person had
tested positive out of more than 800. (Covert, Bryce, 2014.) This fact shows that money
is clearly being wasted on testing when the states arent getting the information they
hoped for. For states to be enforcing drug testing and having an outcome of less than 1
percent of welfare recipients actually obtaining drugs is quite a waste. States are spending
more money on requiring drug tests for welfare recipients rather than saving money with
allowing a few to get away with the purchasing of drugs. In order to fix this, the
government can carefully focus on the money that is given to each individual and by
tracking what is being spent should help structure out which people are using the money
for important causes and which arent. Individuals who are discovered to be spending
money on drugs should be taken off the welfare programs and placed in an environment
where they can get their drug addiction cured and have an enclosed life. This would mean
that they are forced to work; they would have to give their earnings to the people

Beltran 3
operating the facility, who would buy necessities for that individual. By providing this
upbringing it will help enhance that individual and help better their lifestyle. Although
many people may disagree, theres always going to be an opposing side.
Ironically, the money used for drug testing recipients should go to stabilized rehab
centers all over the U.S. Although the money would still go to drug users, it will help
better their lives in many ways. A program like this can also help people get off welfare
programs because it will help them get back on their feet and search for a stable job that
can support them financially. Using the money for this instead of drug testing will further
the country as well. It will enhance the job force, which will provide more money for the
country that can go to various other causes. This cycle would continue to start an increase
in stability of this country.
People who agree that enforcing drug tests on welfare recipients have one main
point. They feel that since they are required to take a drug test when applying for a job
then welfare recipients should also be required to take one considering theyre receiving
free assistance from the government. If the working class must take a drug test to get a
job, to make the money that the government takes away to give to welfare, why shouldnt
someone receiving these benefits have to do the same? (Yankelovich, Daniel, 2009)
Taxpayers agree that welfare recipients should not get away with obtaining this money
and still not improving their lives with it. Many U.S. citizens disregard the idea of
researching this topic in order to further their opinions because they have their mindset on
having these tests being taken regardless of any situation. They strictly feel that welfare
recipients should follow the same regulations as they do when working for the same
money that welfare gets without having to work.

Beltran 4
Drug testing recipients causes not only expense problems, but also adds stress to
the individual striving to join the program. Welfare is a program used to help people in
need for a temporary time. Daniel Yankelovich states that, These people are the last
individuals that need added stress to their daily lives. Some welfare recipients need drugs
such as medical marijuana in order to help them get through each day, just like people
who arent on welfare and need their medication. (Yankelovich, Daniel, 2009) People
are on welfare programs for less than a year, usually. If drug testing were to take place in
all states, it would be useless to enforce this due to the fact that they are only using this
program for a short amount of time. If the government caught a person who is using
drugs on welfare and they were just about to get off the program, drug testing them
would have been a waste of money because that person is no longer using government
money to survive. If citizens used this program for over a year then yes, drug testing
would be considerable. Overall, the amount of money spent on the tests should be used
for other programs to better the country. This wasted government money can help people
further their education by granting them with financial aid. Many people, including
myself get very minimal aid due to government issues such as this.
This topic is all about the expenses taken place when drug testing these people.
Entering this topic, I was very one sided. I clearly stated my opinion towards this
argument in a previous writing. After researching and learning the aspects of this topic, I
have come to the realization that drug testing welfare recipients is in fact a waste of time
and money. Due to the opinion of the taxpayers, they agree that enforcing this type of
testing will help regulate the government money. In regards to this, if society were to
research and analyze this topic carefully, they would understand that requiring these

Beltran 5
people to take drug tests is in fact wasting their money. The research and ideas I
discovered about this question have changed my mindset on the action of drug testing
these people. If society were to learn about the pros and cons of this topic, the debate
would have been settled a long time ago. I believe that drug testing welfare applicants do
truly waste government and taxpayer money.

Beltran 6

Works Cited
Covert, Bryce. "Tennessee Drug Tests Welfare Applicants, Discovers Less Than One
Percent Use Drugs." ThinkProgress RSS. ThinkProgress, 7 Aug. 2014. Web. 10
Nov. 2014.
Keller, Austin. "Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients: Con." The Concordian. The
Concordian, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Yankelovich, Daniel. "People Support Mandatory Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients |
Public Agenda." People Support Mandatory Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients |
Public Agenda. Public Agenda, 11 Oct. 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.