Welfare Drug Testing In Florida Stopped. What About Stopping Addiction?

Just a while back the state of Florida passed a law that required individuals who were trying to qualify for welfare checks to pass a drug test. The premise behind this law was to make sure that the money being received from the government was being put towards a good purpose and not to support a drug or alcohol addiction. This past Monday an Orlando a judge temporarily stopped the law that required welfare applicants to be drug tested. The judge felt that there was a possibility that the law violated the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment which addresses illegal search and seizure. Since there was a discussion of putting the law in place there has been a lot of controversies. Some feel it is a good way to make sure government dollars are being spent appropriately while others look at the law as a way of stereotyping people who are in need of government assistance. Other questions arise with the law. What happens if someone trying to collect a welfare check tests positive for drugs? Are they going to get government assistance to help them with their addiction? After all addiction to drugs and alcohol is a disease and just like other diseases treatment is needed. If individuals who need welfare checks can’t get them because they fail drug tests due to addiction how are they ever expected to pass a test if they don’t get some sort of treatment? While states throughout the country have state-run addiction treatment facilities, the beds that are available are limited. This creates a major problem for individuals who need welfare checks and need addiction treatment. This law being temporarily stopped is likely just the beginning of a long and heated debate among politicians and people in need of government assistance.