Judge nixes Florida’s welfare drug testing

[The Straight Story]

ORLANDO -- A federal judge has ruled that a 2011 law requiring welfare applicants to undergo drug tests is unconstitutional, striking a blow to Gov. Rick Scott's administration over the controversial tests.

Scott quickly said he would appeal U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven'sTuesday ruling, the latest defeat for the governor in a drawn-out battle over drug testing some of the state's poorest residents.

Scriven ruled that the urine tests violate the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

In a harshly worded, 30-page opinion, Scriven concluded that "there is no set of circumstances under which the warrantless, suspicionless drug testing at issue in this case could be constitutionally applied."

Scott, who used the mandatory drug tests as a campaign issue, insists that the urine tests are needed to make sure poor children don't grow up in drug-riddled households.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/31/3846281/judge-nixes-flas-welfare-drug.html

[csziggy]

1. Besides, the testing that has been done shows LOW drug use

The percentage of positive results in the welfare applicants was lower than in the general population.

Of the 4,086 applicants who scheduled drug tests while the law was enforced, 108 people, or 2.6 percent, failed, most often testing positive for marijuana. About 40 people scheduled tests but canceled them, according to the Department of Children and Families, which oversees Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, known as the TANF program.

The numbers, confirming previous estimates, show that taxpayers spent $118,140 to reimburse people for drug test costs, at an average of $35 per screening.

The state's net loss? $45,780.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/florida-didnt-save-money-by-drug-testing-welfare-recipients-data-shows/1225721

http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/welfare.asp

The testing should have been stopped then but since Scott's lab owning cronies were making big bucks off the testing, it was not.

[hollysmom]

2. I guess the fact it was expensive and proved that the poor take less drugs than the general populati

did not prove what a waste it was to the genius like governor. Oh wait, it is just another punishment and more degradation for the poor, nothing to do with common sense.

[99Forever]

4. When they finish drug testing EVERY public office holder...

... and prosecuting and jailing every one that tests positive, without exception, then it will be okay with me to test ALL other recipients of tax dollars.

[DirkGently]

5. Pink Slip Rick in 2014

[longship]

6. It is a statistical certainty that there will be more false positives than false negatives.

One does not have to go beyond that undeniable fact to oppose drug testing any population segment.

These tests are not 100% accurate. When one is using an imperfect test to screen a population the biases disfavor the larger group, those not using drugs. It's just simple statistics. The number of false positives can overwhelm the number of false negatives.

That's why, no matter what the rationale, it is bad policy.