The Georgia Legislature wanted to ban welfare recipients if they could not pass a drug test two years ago.
Florida signed a similar law, but it was shot down in Federal Court. Other states have proposed similar legislation.
Since Welfare Reform in 1996, states have proposed drug testing for public welfare benefits.
At least 12 states in 2010 proposed some sort of drug testing for welfare applicants. Usually there was written into the legislation that it would be random. None of them became law due to a Michigan Court of Appeals case Marchwinski v. Howard, which simply states that it’s unconstitutional to drug test people who aren’t under suspicion for drug use.
In 2013 no less than 29 states have introduced proposals for requiring drug testing or screening for public assistance. Kansas was able to pass a law if the person applying is under suspicion for using drugs.
Nine states have passed laws with language to drug test public assistance recipients. The states that passed the laws are Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah. Some of the states’ laws apply to all applicants or if they believe the person is using a controlled substance. However, Florida’s law has been stopped by a district judge. Tennessee requires the department to establish a system of testing based on suspicion.
The irony of the fervor to pass these laws is that The Washington Post reports that, “and if one excludes marijuana, then abuse or dependence of other illicit substances is rare within the SNAP population. By far the most common substance use disorders among SNAP recipients (and among the general population) arise from alcohol use—behaviors generally left undetected by drug-testing.”
Article Appeared @http://www.kulturekritic.com/2014/01/uncategorized/ga-lawmaker-also-wants-drug-test-everyone-food-stamps/