In July 2011 Florida began drug testing of welfare applicants. The applicants paid for their own drug tests, and were reimbursed by the state if the results were negative. Applicants with positive results were denied welfare benefits for a year, and were not reimbursed for their costs.
This new law came into effect as an initiative by Governor Rick Scott on the pretense that the state would save money. Scott also claimed that welfare recipients are more likely to abuse illegal substances than normal.
Both statements have turned out to be untrue. The state has experienced only about 2% positive drug screen results in early analysis of the thousand or so applicants in the first month. Drug use as a percentage of the population of people aged 15-64 years in the US is 12.6% for marijuana alone. Florida welfare recipients 2% is less than the 2.8% of americans that use cocaine. Clearly drug use is not a big problem among Florida's welfare recipients. Because of the low percentage of positive drug screens, the state has to reimburse more people than expected and is barely breaking even on the new law. The cost of the tests is offset by benefits denied to families with children, which does not satisfy the mission of Florida's Department of Children and Families not does it serve the public good in any way.
Coincidentally, Governor Rick Scott co-founded a company named Solantic that among other things performs drug testing in Florida. Scott divested his interest in the company upon becoming Governor, by transferring the controlling shares of the company to his wife. Scott has come under criticism as a result, as his motivation in requiring drug testing is suspect given his potential financial interest.
What is overlooked in this fiasco, and the rash of similar provisions in a few other states, is that the Constitution guarantees that citizens of the US be free from unreasonable searches by the government. It does not state that this right only comes into effect if a person's liberty is at stake. Drug testing as a prerequisite for government benefits is unconstitutional and should be struck down by the courts. The ACLU has started this process by suing the state of Florida in a class action lawsuit to challenge the law. Hopefully they will be able to put an end to this backwards, unproductive law and give it the quick death it deserves.