Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed a bill into law on April 30 requiring welfare recipients to undergo drug testing, which they must pay for. State employees who have “reasonable suspicion” a recipient is a drug abuser will have to order them to undergo a drug test. Failed tests will result in the temporary halt of government benefits.
Drug usage and trafficking have drastically increased in Georgia since late January of this year. Between 10-12 drug arrests have occurred on Georgia’s Highway 30 alone, since January.
“You’re trying to balance two competing forces. First is the right of the individual if they qualify to be given assistance in terms of food stamps,” Deal explained. “On the other hand, the right of the taxpayer not to be putting money in the hands of those abusing drugs. So it’s a delicate balance of social issues.”
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However, Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, finds fault with the new law. According to Seagraves, state employees are not appropriately trained to detect “reasonable suspicious.”
“If some, however, reject treatment and instead choose a lifestyle that renders them unemployable, taxpayers shouldn’t have to subsidize that.” says Brian Robinson, spokesperson for Gov. Deal.
A similar bill requiring welfare recipients to undergo drug testing was passed in Florida in 2011. The bill ended up costing taxpayers more money than it saved them. Two years later, in December 2013, Judge Mary S. Scriven ruled that the program violated the protection against unreasonable searches.
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