Florida has received the first results of their drug testing for welfare recipients. From an initial batch of about one thousand tests, only 2% came back positive. The costs of each test is roughly $30.00 and Florida has between 1000 and 1500 new applicants a month for welfare benefits. Which means the State of Florida spent almost forty thousand dollars to test people who came up negative. The results were a bit surprising, I imagine, for some.

According to studies, the general public has a drug use rate of between 6.5% and 8.5%, so the 2% positive test results is well below that of the public, not higher.

The idea is simple. No taxpayer wants to see their hard earned tax dollars pay for someone on welfare to buy drugs with. That's perfectly sensible. I agree with that sentiment. I'm guessing you do as well. The devil, as they say, is in the details. With 4th Amendment issues regarding unreasonable search and seizures, this was bound to be a slippery slope from the start. The US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 against a Georgia law requiring candidates for State offices to pass a drug test. In the ruling, drug testing where public safety was at risk would be Constitutional, but short of that standard, no. In 2003, a...

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Then that seems like a stupid waste of money to me. It's not like the amount of money received from welfare would be very useful to a true drug addict.

As the parent of a child who's in recovery, I'd suggest 20 bucks is enough for some of these addicts to kill for. You get strung out enough, the way I hear it, they'll do just about anything to get their next fix.

In Ohio, the amount of actual cash assistance is very limited. However, its not uncommon for recipients to get 600 dollars a month or more in food stamps. There's a credit card with a PIN number, which anyone can use...The scams these folks think up are insane...

So sorry to hear that Bill. That must be very tough for you. I hope the recovery is looking good.

Thanks, Nigel...

We're way ahead of where we thought we'd be a few years ago. While most parents look forward to those years beyond high school for their kids to attend college or start working, we'd resigned ourselves that there was an above average chance that she'd be dead by graduation. Where other parents were focused on grades, we were focused on an overdose or a suicide.

We did everything a family could do, including finally understanding that she was responsible for her own actions. There were many dark days, trust me. Today, she is well into what appears to be a successful recovery program, married and enjoying her first born child, a little boy. They live with us and for now, it seems to be all moving in a reasonable direction.

You don't look too far down the road when you've got a tiger like this by the tail, you know?