Missouri To Drug Test Welfare Recipients

July 13, 2011 7:46 AM

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St. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) - It’s official; the Missouri Department of Social Services now has the go-ahead to put together a program for screening welfare applicants and recipients for drugs.

Governor Jay Nixon signed the bill into law Tuesday that states people who test positive or refuse to be checked and fail to complete a substance abuse program will lose their benefits for three years. All it’s going to take is the suspicion that there is reasonable cause to suspect illegal drug use. There is a failsafe for households with children; if benefits are cut off, the state will appoint a third-party to receive benefits on the children’s behalf. Also if the recipient participates in a substance abuse program and does not test positive for at least half a year, they could keep their benefits.

In addition to the drug tests, the legislation requires that photographs of welfare recipients be placed on their electronic benefit cards. This will reduce the possibility of drug addict using fraudulent identification.

Proponents of the testing requirement strongly contend that welfare benefits funded by taxpayers should not go to people who are using illegal drugs. Critics on the other hand say the legislation singles out one group of people for no reason and my be unconstitutional.

According to earlier reports, state budget analysts estimated the program could cost up to $2.3 million a year. There is no estimate on how much might be saved.

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Welfare drug testing is HB73.

Online: Nixon:
http://www.gov.mo.gov
Legislature:
http://www.moga.mo.gov

Copyright KMOX

Missouri To Drug Test Welfare Recipients

http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/drugs/missouri-governor-signs-bill-authorizing-drug-testing-for-welfare-recipients Missouri Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients | The Partnership at Drugfree.org

[...] undergo testing and does not complete a substance abuse program will lose benefits for three years, KMOX reports. If the person participates in a substance abuse program and does not test positive for at [...]
Paul Simmons

The law is no doubt racist but it will weed out the weak and make the strong stronger.

marie

how is it racist? it is not singling out any one race… it is merely setting the same standards for welfare recipients that all of us hard working tax payers are held to. those of us with jobs are drug tested in order to make our money, so why should welfare recipients be any different?

andrew

They were doing this in florida too, and only 2%!!!!! of the people failed their drug tests! HUGE WASTE OF YOUR MONEY. That being said..uhmm are the politicians being drugged tested? If this becomes a law, then ANYONE working and being paid with tax dollars should be drug tested, and a reg basis…oh and also..Alcohol should be included..its a depressant and more addictive than mary jane, and more detrimental..
marie

but that also doesnt account for the people who stopped applying for benefits because they didnt want to be subjected to drug testing. and i agree, politicians and everyone else being paid with tax dollars, should be included, if i have to be drug tested to have my job and work hard to earn my money, so should anyone who is paid from the tax dollars i am forced to pay. and i have no problem including alcohol. i can’t drink on the job, why should anyone else be able to?

Landon Estes

I hope the rest of the country follows suit. And takes it one step further. People receiving government hand outs shouldn’t be allowed to vote. Think about it. You’re getting free money from the government, who do you vote for? The person who is going to give you the most money.
TxVet

RE: Paul Simmons
The law is no doubt racist but it will weed out the weak and make the strong stronger.
How is it racist? The majority of people on welfare in the U.S. are white.
Mr. Plutocrat

I hate poor people, so I support throwing up roadblocks in front of them any time we can. I like the idea of a guy who lost his job being denied social assistance because he ate a poppy seed bagel for breakfast before his drug test.

lindsey

You have to eat a ridiculous amount of poppy seeds to fail a drug test, so nice try.

Regead

You have to eat “virgin” seeds to fail the test. Simply eating poppy seeds won’t fail it. But you’re right it would take a mountain of those seeds to eat enough of the virgin ones.

SUM

i LOVE THE PLAN, BUT IT IS BIAS AND THEY SHOULD NOT SINGLE OUT JUST ONE BAD THING, SINGLE OUT ALCOHOLICS AS WELL AS DRUG USERS, CAUSE i DO NOT WANT MY MONEY SUPPORTING A LAZY ALCOHOLIC EITHER. MONEY HMMM IT WILL PUT US FURTHER IN DEBT AND RAISE TAX PAYERS FEES SO YOU ARE DAMNED IF YOU DO AND DAMNED IF YOU DON’T. honestly SINGLE OUT MOLESTERS AND CHILD ABUSERS AND MURDERERS CAUSE THE ONLY REASON ONE CANT WORK IS MENTALLY OR PHYSICALLY ILL. i COULD GO ON AND ON…………………..
Daniel

Dopeheads and alchoholics drain funding that should go to the people who actually need it. Maybe one day someone’s mother dies because they denied her help due to lack of money, while other people sit around smoking dope and drinking themselves to death on the very money that could have helped her. What if we were talking about your family member there? Government programs are not free money growing on trees. They are running out of money due to the irresponsible, lazy career welfare people and SSI disability fraudsters today. I,d rather see good laws be made like this one that will free up OUR tax dollars to help those who actually deserve help, not the drug addicts and alchoholics. Of course there are the folks who have never paid taxes in their lives who will object to anyone taking away their freebies.
http://alllatestnews.com/2011/09/17/aclu-sues-missouri-college-over-drug-testing.html ACLU Sues Missouri College Over Drug Testing | All Latest News

[...] seems to be hypocrisy in Missouri. KMOX reported Gov. Jay Nixon signed a provision requiring welfare recipients in his state submit to drug testing [...]
http://www.allnewz.it/index.php/aclu-sues-missouri-college-over-drug-testing USA News | ACLU Sues Missouri College Over Drug Testing

[...] seems to be hypocrisy in Missouri. KMOX reported Gov. Jay Nixon signed a provision requiring welfare recipients in his state submit to drug testing [...]
http://www.locallawyer.us/legal-rights/2011/10/poor-people-have-rights-too/ Poor People Have Rights Too | Find A Local Lawyer – Find Your Attorney

[...] was passed and was signed into law in Florida and more limited requirements were added in Indiana, Missouri and Pennsylvania . Florida’s bill goes so far as to make all people applying for public [...]
http://courantblogs.com/susan-campbell/2012/01/15/1068/ A little more reading with Sunday’s column… | Susan Campbell

[...] read more about Missouri’s drug testing policies, go here. To read how Indiana residents fared in their drug tests, go [...]
http://freedomluchador.com/ultraconservative-utopia-would-include-drug-testing-the-poor-unemployed.html ‘Ultraconservative Utopia' Would Include Drug Testing The Poor & Unemployed : freedomluchador.com

[...] includes testing not based on prior suspicion. In Missouri, for example, lawmakers last year said the state could test TANF recipients only if state workers suspected drug use [...]
http://politicalration.com/us/ultraconservative-utopia-would-include-drug-testing-the-poor-unemployed/ ‘Ultraconservative Utopia’ Would Include Drug Testing The Poor & Unemployed | Political Ration

[...] includes testing not based on prior suspicion. In Missouri, for example, lawmakers last year said the state could test TANF recipients only if state workers suspected drug use [...]