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Why make asking for help more humiliating than it already is
Not to mention the extra cost involved
I agree with testing politicians
Can we also test the talking heads on the tee vee. They MUST be on drugs
Lets include the talking Oxycotin heads on the Radio while we're at it....
Except if you have a false 'positive' on a drug test. I have seen a Thoroughbred racehorse test 'positive' for opiates after a groom gave the horse a poppy seed bagel.
How will you know who the innocent or the guilty might be? It will be a windfall profit for the big drug companies churning out tests, retesting the false positives, and taxpayers incarcerating possibly innocent people.......
What about 'search and seizure' laws? Dont you think that 'testing' for drugs, without 'cause' is an illegal search and seizure of an individual?
If you dont, then hand over your urine sample like a good sheep.
jebus. this is incredible. an incredible and disgusting breach of privacy.
This thinking you have is the all or nothing syndrome which so many are coming down with, regardless of political sway
It might be a good idea, if instead of mandatory testing, there were real programs in place to deal with substance abuse for poor people. This would include alcohol abuse, the number one problem in America. The poll taken in West Virginia on this question-should welfare recepients have to take drug tests? ....was sponsored by Budweiser.!!
There are scanty programs for poor people to get help with substance abuse. The waiting lines are months, sometimes years long. I am sorry, but if someone wants to clean up and improve their life right now there is no help whatsoever. Or too little too late.
It does not help people to hang incarceration over their heads. There are very good parents who enjoy marijuana responsibly. Should they go to jail too?
We need to stop treating marijuana use the same way we treat heroin, meth and cocaine. I think your stance about testing everyone, incarcerating everyone is the typical all or nothing stance that makes this war on drugs so cruel, so insane and so wastefull of our tax money.
Drug use-or abuse- is a medical problem and should be disconnected from the criminal justice system. People abuse prescription drugs, black market drugs, alcohol and everything in between. If they become addicted it does no good to throw them in jail at great expense to the taxpayer, breaking up families and shredding the right to privacy.
They need treatment and support. Unfortunately, the system is not set up to help these people, only to punish them.
btw, lets test all the AIG, City Bank and B of A executives, all their workers too. After all, they are getting public assistance and they did not follow the 'rules' either. Fair is fair.
In addition, in NY State it appears that one condition of Probation is that you cannot consume alcoholic beverages. None. Nada. Zip. He doesn't drink, so that shouldn't have been a problem. Except when he was outside and the probation officer dropped by, and she insisted on giving him a breathalizer test in the driveway in full view of all the neighbors.
Another example of the criminal justice system trying to humiliate people into hating the government.
UNLESS, you are a Bankster !!
We know who the real criminals are but they're not made to take drug tests.
fu*kers.
I again ask the people voting for these ass blankets, why do you vote against your own best interests.
Don't forget they are intern humping, toe tapping, diaper wearing, pedophiling, daughter humping, wife swapping, multiple divorcing, bribe taking, lying, self righteous, bible thumping, who sat by and watched Bush and Cheney loot the treasury, and removed any oversight on any actions by Corporate America. Yeah, the welfare recipients, they caused the bailout by being on drugs.
Start with the politicians who want this.
Then go to the corporate welfare pigs and test all of them.
Next up, let's test those people who whine endlessly about how evil drugs are and how bad and sick drug users are, people like say Rush Limpballs, and if they test positive, let's hold them to the standards they want everyone ELSE to live under.
Oh wait... Rush Limpballs was already caught with illegal MOUNTAINS of hillbilly heroin, he even said at one point "if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."
Unless, of course, you are a fat, anal cyst draft dodging blow-hard, then you need sympathy and understanding, right?
On a sadder note the Pres said no way to legalized Pot. I really thought I was going to be ahead of the curve. I am in the greenhouse switching back to tomatoes.
Second, I was laid off from my job a few months ago, due to my employer's inability to obtain credit from his usual sources, probably due to his unwillingness to pay his bills on time. I was not in the accounting dept., I should point out.
When I was laid off, I applied for the unemployment benefits I am entitled to, meager as those are.
A legislator in this wonderful state of FloriDUH, has recently introduced legislation that would require drug testing of people collecting unemployment benefits - to be paid for by the recipient of these benefits. The approximate cost of the testing would be $30.00. This in a state where the benefit is $300.00 per week, which is an increase over the $275.00 a week that was paid prior to the passing of the stimulus package.
Guess what, I can't pay that kind of money! That's my grocery bill for an entire week. If this A$$m&&ch legislator is so hellbent on making sure that people collecting money that they are entitled to are not using it to buy drugs, let the state pay for it! Why not drug test social security recipients also.
These republican clowns are lower than whale $hit on the floor of the ocean. I hope this fat pig (also on the public payroll) rots in hell!
See link: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/mar/16/senator...
More Republican BS.
I don't care so much about outing drug doing welfare folks, but it's their kids who will suffer the consequences if they have a parent spending the limited funds coming in on drugs.
I live just outside of Milwaukee and over the last few months there has been a rash of stories in the news about terrible parents either badly hurting or even killing their kid, all if i remember correct were on public assistance. It's a tough enough road already that so many of these kids face when created often by irresponsible parents who were nowhere near ready to bring a child into the world. They then grow up in poverty and usually in rough neighborhoods, it's only going to be worse if their only parent also has a drug problem. The deck stacked against the kid or kids will be severe.
I understand people worrying about privacy issues, but i'm more concerned about the potential problems for the kid/kids who already are growing up in poverty, the last thing they need is also having their parent with drug problems who may instead be using the limited resources of things besides those kids.
that would help more than drug testing.
If a family has a drug problem it will be apparent. How could you say we cannot change our drug laws and have drug testing for welfare recipients? Because that is what would have to happen for them to get medical help instead of incarceration.
Having a parent go to jail might be worse. Kids in foster care are abused and killed, too.
Sorry, but despite the fact that there may be some real serious drug problems involved there, just throwing everything into one big pot called "Drugs" and taking punative action is not going to help.
Particulary when the most dangerous drug, alcohol, is not being policed. Smoking pot does not cause the violence that drinking does.
Now I bet this bullsh_t would stop like a dime.
As for the debate of alcohol vs pot, it is irrelevant because of the legality of it all, despite whatever scientific studies wmforr has done.
If only we could get them to stop buying cigarettes and lotto tickets our money will be going to good use.