Victory in Florida: No Illegal Drug Testing For Welfare

[Sherman A1]

On Monday we got some great news in Florida: following an ACLU lawsuit, the state will no longer be allowed to make people applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) take a drug test in order to get the assistance they need.

A month ago, four-year-old Jordan Lebron sat in a courtroom in Florida for three hours, quietly coloring and playing with toy cars while his father, Luis, sat with us at counsel table watching and listening to the judge's questions and the lawyers' answers.

http://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/victory-florida-no-illegal-drug-testing-welfare

[xchrom]

1. Thanks ACLU. Nt

[slay]

2. Good. Just because someone needs TANF doesn't mean you get to humiliate them and invade their

privacy just to prop up some drug testing corporation's profits. And until marijuana - less harmful than alcohol - is made legal - drug tests should be made illegal. Also it presumes guilt and makes you prove yourself innocent. Just a few of the many problems I have with drug testing - ie legislating morality.

[Cid_B]

3. Too bad...

[Sherman A1]

5. Huh?

are you saying that this group should automatically be drug tested just because they are in need of assistance?

[Cid_B]

9. Not because they are in need...

... but rather because they are receiving assistance from the public (i.e. me and other taxpayers). There should be a minimum level of assurance that the resources expended are being used in an appropriate manner.

Seems reasonable to me...

[madokie]

14. But Cid_B is unreasonable to me

You sound like a republicon to me in what you posted there

[Cid_B]

18. Glad to see you took the time to craft a reasoned and well thought out response...

There are valid points to argue against the policy but it's just easier to insult...

[madokie]

19. You simply are regurgitating the right wing talking points my right wing friends are using

and guess what they're republicons.
I find what they decided to do in Florida to be the right course of action. Don't kick people when they are down, is that too hard to comprehend?

Oh and my response to you was well thought out, sorry. Republicon talking points do that to me every time and when someone is shitting the same crap I see it as I see it.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Obamanaut]

17. Seems reasonable to me too. nt

[Obamanaut]

7. +1. I was tested during my military career, despite never having done

illegal mind altering substances. I thought it was fair, since I was being paid by the taxpayers.

I think everyone who receives money, salary, subsidies, etc., from the government (taxpayers) should be subject to such testing. Legislators, police, even me (a military retiree.) I don't use any of the illegal substances, so there is no reason to fear a random drug test.

Private companies can make their own rules re random or regular testing.

[Sherman A1]

8. Yet as the data from their own pilot program

indicated it was at the very best a minor issue among this population and was a net loss for the taxpayer. The cost vs benefit simply did not prove itself, so while perhaps timely divisive political rhetoric the numbers did not add up, constitutional issues notwithstanding.

[paulrfrank]

4. Yay!

Yay!

[Blue Owl]

6. P.S. Fuck Rick Scott

n/t

[Uncle Joe]

10. Kicked, recommended and kudos to the ACLU.

Thanks for the thread, Sherman.:thumbsup:

[denese]

11. not sure if it's true or not...

but I heard Rick Scott's wife owns the drug testing companies they were using.
Big surprise if true.
Anyone heard anything like that?

[Sherman A1]

15. I believe you are correct

not that there would be any undo influence there...... :sarcasm:

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. excellent news

[JPZenger]

13. Drug test the legislators first

A proposal in Florida was to make all of the legislators take public drug tests before the law would go into effect.

(I always wondered why those legislators from South Florida were acting so paranoid.)

[MFrohike]

16. A thought

I'd have less problem with this if everyone who received benefits from government was included. Benefits would include tax credits, tax deductions, federal student loans, etc. If everybody's on the take, it's a bit silly to single out one group of people.

[fishwax]

21. good to hear n/t