The flailing economy has several cash-strapped states contemplating an old concept for saving money: Test aid recipients for illegal drugs and deny help to those who aren’t clean. At least 10 states are considering bills that would require drug testing for various government benefits. Some want to screen welfare and food stamp recipients, while others want to test the jobless seeking unemployment benefits. Some want to hit all three.
There’s one legal glitch. A case that reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has already declared wholesale drug testing of welfare recipients unconstitutional. Michigan tried to do it in the late 1990s, but the en banc appeals court in 2003 let stand a lower court ruling that said such drug testing amounted to an unreasonable search. Legislators have parsed that decision, trying to tweak their bills to withstand legal challenge.
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