Should Welfare Recipients Get Drug Testing?

Alan Greenblatt recently wrote an article for NPR discussing the crusade of Kasha Kelly, a Kansas state house representative who "sponsored legislation to require a large share of the state's welfare recipients to be tested for drug use, or risk losing their benefits."

This is a movement which is gaining momentum in not only Kansas but a number of other states.

A federal appellate court threw out Michigan's random drug testing law in 2003, saying it violated the constitutional ban against unreasonable search and seizure.

I have no problem with drug testing welfare recipients. While we are at it though, lets go ahead and test those who receive disability checks or SSI. Let's test those who receive Medicare or Medicaid. If you want to present legislation to drug test those who receive government funds which sustain their lively-hood, then lets go all the way across the board. That is the only way to make it fair.

While we are at it, and this is a big pet peeve of mine, let's find a way to make sure the folks who are getting Food Stamps actually use those funds to buy groceries that can sustain them and their families for the entire month. These items should be nutritious. Things such as fresh fruit and vegetables, lean cuts of meat, dairy products like milk, eggs, yogurt. They SHOULD NOT be allowed to buy energy drinks, potato chips, candy, etc. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen those items going across the scanner and then the person in front of me pull out a Food Stamp card. If you choose to buy those items, you should have to buy them with your own money.