Welfare-Drug Testing Program Ruled Unconstitutional

From the New York Times: 

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down as unconstitutional a Florida law that required welfare applicants to undergo mandatory drug testing, setting the stage for a legal battle that could affect similar efforts nationwide.

Judge Mary S. Scriven of the United States District Court in Orlando held that the testing requirement, the signature legislation of Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican who campaigned on the issue, violated the protection against unreasonable searches.

“The court finds there is no set of circumstances under which the warrantless, suspicionless drug testing at issue in this case could be constitutionally applied,” she wrote. The ruling made permanent an earlier, temporary ban by the judge.

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Tuesday’s decision stemmed from a 2011 suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Florida Justice Institute on behalf of a Central Florida resident, Luis W. Lebron, a Navy veteran and full-time student who had filed for public assistance. Mr. Lebron, who provided care for his disabled mother and was raising a young child as a single father, argued that it was unfair to require drug testing when no suspicion of drug abuse existed.

Given that these bills cost far more money than they save (which is allegedly the reasoning for these bills according to their supporters), I'm not seeing how this is in any way conservative fiscally.

Another Benefit of Obamacare

Marijuana & the Fight Against Cancer

The "Effects" of Marijuana Use

Half an Ounce Equals 20 Years in Jail

Drug Testing Welfare Recipients Fails...Again

From KSL.com:

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah has spent more than $30,000 to screen welfare applicants for drug use since a new law went into effect a year ago, but only 12 people have tested positive, state figures show.

The data from August 2012 through July 2013 indicates the state spent almost $6,000 to give 4,730 applicants a written test. After 466 showed a likelihood of drug use, they were given drug tests at a total cost of more than $25,000, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, which administers welfare benefits and the tests.

Kaysville Republican Rep. Brad Wilson and South Jordan Republican Sen. Aaron Osmond sponsored the legislation last year and did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. 

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 In Florida, 108 people tested positive for drugs among the more than 4,000 tested. Florida's law was temporarily halted by a federal judge, and a federal appeals court upheld the ban in February. Gov. Rick Scott has said he's planning to appeal the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michigan instituted a random drug-testing policy on welfare recipients that was stopped by a judge after five weeks. A four-year court battle followed before a federal appeals court ruled the policy unconstitutional. 

Rep. Gohmert (R-TX) Blames Obama for Racial Tension

Welfare Drug Testing Bill Introduced In Congress

From Huffington Post:

To fight the specter of poor people spending taxpayer money on drugs, a Republican congressman has reintroduced legislation to make welfare applicants pee in cups to prove they're clean. 

Rep. Stephen Fincher's (R-Tenn.) bill would require states to randomly test 20 percent of people receiving benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which spends roughly $16 billion per year supporting poverty-stricken parents with monthly checks averaging $392.

"Currently the federal government enables drug abusers a safety-net by allowing them to participate in the TANF program," Fincher said in a statement. "Instead of having to make the hard-choice between drugs and other essential needs, abusers are able to rely on their monthly check to help them pay their bills."

In Congress and in state legislatures across the country, Republicans have sought to implement welfare drug testing programs in recent years. Few measures have become law, as testing can be expensive and there's not much data reflecting a widespread drug problem among welfare recipients. Civil liberties advocates successfully sued to halt the most sweeping drug screening law, implemented in Florida in 2011.

So despite evidence to the contrary, Republicans think that if you are poor, you are probably on drugs as well. This has the added affect of increasing government spending with nothing to show for it in terms of results. So much for fiscal conservatism.

Homophobia & the Power of Humiliation

From Think Progress:

[Rep. James] Lankford [R-OK] agreed with the woman’s concern, vowing to open an investigation into the matter. “They love functioning in the dark,” the Oklahoma Republican said of the LGBT program, promising to use “the power of humiliation” to uproot it.

CONSTITUENT: I want to know if you’re aware of the Substances and Mental Health Services Administration that has a book called the Provider’s Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment for Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Individuals.

LANKFORD: Wow.

CONSTITUENT: They are going around the nation, they just did this here in Oklahoma, December 7th, and having conferences that are educational. [...] About 2 percent of the conference is dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues. 98 percent is doing indoctrination or pushing the homosexual agenda. This is what our president is doing. He has a federal agency doing it. Our state, the Oklahoma Mental Health and Substance Abuse Department, put this conference on and is indoctrinating our citizens who are totally against this. Is there any way you can look into this?

LANKFORD: Oh yes, sure. You know I can absolutely get a chance to take a look at it. We’ll start the process, try to see what we can do to identify it. Some of those things you have the power of humiliation where you can raise it and put in sunlight. They love functioning in the dark. You put some sunlight on it, that does help. But, we’ll see. I’m glad to take that on.

Attorney Calls Lance Armstrong "Pathological"

Lance Armstrong's Trail of Destruction

Are We Winning The War On Drugs?

Given that the war on drugs (especially marijuana) is a government program that is NOT working, shouldn't conservatives be against it in the interest of reducing government spending?

Portugal's (More Sensible) Take on Drug Laws

From Business Insider:

Over a decade has passed since Portugal changed its philosophy from labeling drug users as criminals to labeling them as people affected by a disease. This time lapse has allowed statistics to develop and in time, has made Portugal an example to follow. 

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The resulting effect: a drastic reduction in addicts, with Portuguese officials and reports highlighting that this number, at 100,000 before the new policy was enacted, has been halved in the following ten years. Portugal's drug usage rates are now among the lowest of EU member states, according to the same report. 

One more outcome: a lot less sick people. Drug related diseases including STDs and overdoses have been reduced even more than usage rates, which experts believe is the result of the government offering treatment with no threat of legal ramifications to addicts.

While this policy is by no means news, the statistics and figures, which take years to develop and subsequently depict the effects of the change, seem to be worth noting. In a country like America, which may take the philosophy of criminalization a bit far (more than half of America's federal inmates are in prison on drug convictions), other alternatives must, and to a small degree, are being discussed.

America could learn something from Portugal since what we are doing clearly is not working.

The Wrap-Up: June 22, 2012

House Republicans have all but gone on record as being against job creation with their rejection of a transportation bill which passed the Senate by a HUGE margin.

Anti-gay groups in Minnesota are planning a "Dump General Mills" campaign after the business voiced its opposition to the state's proposed marriage equality ban. I guess these groups are unaware of the massive failure of the "Dump Starbucks" campaign.

The Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare") has been pushed back to next week. These justices must really like the attention they're getting.

How will Mitt Romney be spending his weekend?

A key House Republican is saying that the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell is settled law and won't be revisited even if the GOP wins big in November. You'll forgive me if I don't take a politician (regardless of party) at their word.

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) took a DEA administrator to task over her evasiveness on marijuana related questions. His questions were extremely straightforward. Her answers were anything but.

I think most of us knew that no one really cares about Bristol Palin. Now, there are numbers to prove it.

Carrie Underwood may have recently voiced her support for the LGBT community, but she is definitely not the first country star to have done so.

And lastly, Jimmy LaSalvia, co-founder of conservative gay group GOProud, gets grilled on his organization.

Newt Gingrich on Marijuana

P.s. Sorry if you were fooled by the title of the post, but I couldn't resist using it.