Should Welfare Recipients be Drug Tested to Receive Government Aid Research Paper

Should Welfare Recipients be Drug Tested to Receive Government Aid - Research Paper Example Those in support of drug testing the people on public assistance emphasize on the efficient use of taxpayer money and that saving money, that is otherwise deemed to have been used for illicit drug activity, would help in tight state budgets. Edward Buchanan, a Republican speaker of the Wyoming house said, â€Å"The idea from Joe Taxpayer is, ‘I don’t mind helping you out, but you need to show that you’re looking for work, or better yet that you’re employed, and that you’re drug and alcohol-free.’ † (The New York Times, 2012). This is as simple as it gets. The state will test you for drugs before you qualify to receive the compensation. To support the point, Garth Everett, a Republic who defended drug testing legislation said that concern for drug test grew out of bitterness that the workers in many industries are tested for drugs several times, whereas welfare recipients are never subject to any such tests despite a high possibility of drug abuse. Therefore their point is that the government may require drug tests from the recipients of the compensation just to ensure that they are not involved in any illegal activity and utilize their funds responsibly. According to them, this shouldn’t be contrary to the statute and constitution as a government can be seen as an employer of welfare recipients in this case (Hall, 2012). On the other hand, those against the proposal have tried to make their point on the basis of statistical evidence and conclusions drawn therefrom. They argue that the rule to drug test these innocent patients is not in accordance with the US constitution as it makes an unreasonable assumption about the welfare recipients to be drug abusers. Therefore testing these unfortunate citizens for drug abuse would amount to an unconstitutional search of people who sought help. This could also jeopardize the main purpose of this good cause. W. Patrick Goggles, a Democrat  state representative said, â€Å"This legislation assumes suspicion on this group of people, it assumes that they’re drug abusers.†