Testing #welfare recipients for drugs to evaluate eligibility is not only economically and scientifically unfeasible, but also morally questionable.
Let’s start with the numbers. If the concern can be put into the simplest of terms, it would be that “DRUG TESTING IS EXPENSIVE.” Some claim that drug abusers would be screened out of the public welfare system, which would lead to saving money. According to the estimates by the Center for Law & Public Policy, the cost of administering drug tests can be anywhere from $35 to $75 per test. This amount does not include the cost hiring and labor costs, the cost for data privacy, the cost of reconfirmation for protection against positive results, and the cost of legal procedures (to name a few).
If you add that all up, what is the cost of catching one drug abuser? It can cost the government as low as $20,000 to as high as $77,000. The drug testing procedures are not carried out by many private employers due to the excessive cost. It is simple math to see that the government may end up spending more in their attempt to catch one drug abuser than what it can save by screening the person out.
In last year alone, more than $200,000 was spent by thirteen states in the screening process of applicants for federal aid, and guess how many people tested positive after this huge amount? Only 338!
But getting to the heart of the matter, many proponents of this policy question why the government should give money to someone who would end up spending it on drugs. The question should be asked, how can the government help these people who are addicted to drugs? More often than not, they become addicted to drugs as a way to escape their harsh conditions. The moral solution here is to not be hunting out drug abusers by requiring drug testing for welfare assistance, but offer them the help that they need to prevent them from falling further into harmful behaviors. What this drug addiction costs the society is much more than and financial cost. Could we not use the same funds that are planned for drug screening to instead help these people with their substance abuse problems?
Whether the government chooses to opt for drug testing of applicants or not, it is not a money saving question, as the money it would save in welfare payments would be spent on the drug testing infrastructure. However, if it chooses to avoid this policy, it may actually end up saving something far more valuable: the people of this country who are most in need.
