Florida Forces People on Welfare to Pass Drug Tests to Receive Funds WSJ Team

Governor Rick Scott of Florida recently signed into law legislation that forces the poorest individuals in the state to pass drug test to receive funds. The welfare recipient would pay 10-15 dollars for a drug test and be reimbursed if the test is negative for drugs. I personally am very conflicted about the equality of this policy, and can understand the perspectives of people who support and are against the bill. First off, tax payers do not want to support people’s drug habits. That seems fair especially since these people are receiving money from the state to live on for basic necessities, not to use on recreational drugs. On the other hand, this puts an unfair burden and civil restriction on poor communities in Florida. In my opinion, if Floridians want this law to take place then the people who receive tax cuts and tax shelters should also have to pass a drug test. Why should wealthier individuals receive money from tax cuts and shelters if they may be using the money for “bad purposes” like purchasing drugs. This brings me to my conclusion, this legislation, and more importantly the war on drugs is unfairly targeting people of lower classes. If these drug tests were more uniform in nature I would have less of a moral dilemma with the legislature.

The ACLU plans to oppose the bill because it intrudes on the privacy of individuals. However, it will be a hard battle to win when many people believe they are more productive members of the work force and are more entitled to civil liberties than people on welfare. Testing will also cost millions of dollars further straining the state budget. We shall see how this plays out.

The Weed Street Journal

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