Ohio Lawmakers Consider Drug Testing Welfare Recipients

[Anthony]

Ohio lawmakers consider pilot program to drug test welfare recipients.

I don't know, as an adult I never received welfare & I'm poor. I never received any kind of government assistance or disability. I don't use drugs, but I can see the concern of some folks because drug testing folks that receive welfare may violate Ohio constitutional laws.

How many times do they have to fail the drug test to be cut off welfare?

If a person fail the drug test will they be cut off of welfare or will they be forced to attend a rehab program & show proof that they attended the program?

If you fail the drug test can you get back on welfare once you're off drugs?

What if u have a prescription for marijuana?

If they're trying to get off welfare, most jobs in Ohio they will apply for will make them take a drug test.

There are a lot of problems with the welfare system, I'm not that familiar with the welfare system, but I personally have known people who were on welfare for a short period of time & they got off welfare after landing a good job & they occasionally smoked marijuana. I also have known people, black & Caucasian, who received welfare assistance for decades & during that time they were living in section A housing near a suburb paying low rent in a apartment or house with new furniture, new stereo, new TV. If u didn't know better u would think they were middle class. There are also a lot of second to third generation of family members that will have children at a young age, like their parents. The first advice the parent will give them will be get on welfare. Some people will live off welfare for decades because that's what their parent did in the 80's & 90's & that's what their grandmother did in the 70's & 80's. I'm not talking about folks living in the projects with kids walking around in dirty clothes with no food in the house. I'm talking about people who kids got new clothes, new shoes, it's always food in the house. The outside of the house may not look great, but the inside is furnished with new furniture & is very clean. The environment maybe a drug infested environment & it's the misconception that people have a sever drug problem, but in fact, they may only
occasionally smoke marijuana.

There are people who are on drugs bad & they try & flip their welfare assistance for real money to buy drugs & their children are suffering. Does that make that parent a bad person because they have a drug addiction? No, it's a reason why they started to abusing drugs.

I knew folks who have no children & they work in union ran shops. They have people working under them they manage & it's always one lady who have a lot of kids, maybe 4 or 5 & she's on welfare. She may make more than her manager or supervisor because the supervisor is being taxed more because he had no dependents & where he may live. Hell, it may be a foreigner who may work under him who maybe making more than him because the foreigner receive tax breaks.

There are a lot of folks in Ohio that are concerned about their jobs & there are a lot of folks that are unemployed with bad credit & in debt. & these folks may apply for welfare n they may smoke marijuana. Most folks the drug testing may affect don't come out in large numbers to vote, especially if they're unemployed. They don't trust Republicans & they're blaming the Democrats. I'm sure when Gov. John Kasich's make changes in his midterm budget bill he want be concerned about losing the vote of folks on welfare.

State Sen. Tim Schaffer, said "We want to make sure we're putting shirts on backs, food on the table, and shoes on the feet," he said. "There's no reason why the innocent members of a family should suffer because of what one drug user or abuser is doing in that family."

I don't think u can find fault with State Sen. Tim Schaffer statement.

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, said "I'm afraid this bill is based on a myth which portrays public assistance recipients as making a living on the government dime and using our taxpayer dollars to buy drugs," she testified. She said drug testing programs in other states have not turned up such a pattern, yet have cost government more in some cases than the benefits they're designed to safeguard.

[Anthony]

That didn't take long.

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/state/welfare-drug-testing-plan-re...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Senate committee has pulled a pilot program that would tie welfare benefits to clean drug tests from a swiftly moving budget bill.

The move came Wednesday after Gov. John Kasich's administration intervened. The proposal was broadly criticized as discriminatory to the poor, ineffective in other states, and potentially unconstitutional.

A Senate spokeswoman said the governor's office pledged to work with the Senate on the issue as a stand-alone bill. Angela Meleca said the process would allow senators and the governor to work out implementation issues.

The proposal called for piloting drug tests for welfare recipients in three counties that volunteer, with those who test positive losing access to their benefits for at least six months. Meleca said a timetable for acting on the proposal was under consideration.