‘THEY’RE NOT ALL DRUG ABUSERS’ WELFARE TESTING FINDS OTHER ILLS

(Marijuananews note: Notice the disconnect between the headline and the lead sentence. A more accurate header would have said "People On Welfare Use Drugs Less Than General Population." In fact, by the logic of the drug warriors, marijuana use could be said to prevent welfare dependency.

Also, it is worth noting that unemployment may be -- in part -- the result of our society's failure to take depression seriously. Many marijuana users are self-medicating for depression, but are not allowed to use it when they are on welfare.)

The test results also show that, for welfare applicants, chronic depression and other mental health problems are more prevalent than drug problems.

The planned statewide test, which includes series of psychological questions, has been piloted in the Jacksonville area since January. Results show that of 1,364 applicants, 5 percent - 72 - tested positive for illegal drugs.

The 72 represent 21 percent of the 340 people who were referred for urinalysis tests.

In comparison, an estimated 6.5 percent of Americans use illegal drugs, according to national drug abuse experts. Estimates for Florida and the Jacksonville area range from 5 to 10 percent.

"The thing we all seem to have in our heads is that it’s only the poor who do this stuff," said Donnelly Rembert, a Methodist Medical Center grant writer who recently completed a Jacksonville study on mental health and substance abuse.

"The middle class can demand that the poor stop using drugs and that they get tested all the time," she said. "But if you have money, the only reason you have to stop [using drugs] is if your life gets way out of control."

People who refuse to be screened or test positive and refuse treatment for drug problems are denied cash assistance, but they can receive Medicaid and food stamps.

The applicant screening, also being tried in Tallahassee, comes amid a nationwide effort to move people off welfare.

Since the effort began in 1996, the welfare rolls have decreased by about 65 percent. Annual welfare payments have shrunk from about $23 billion to $19 billion nationwide, and from about $3 million to $900,000 in the Jacksonville area.

St. Johns County has been giving urinalysis tests to people who apply for county welfare assistance for several years. Of 742 applicants tested in 1997, 33 of them, or 4 percent, tested positive for illegal drugs, county statistics show.

Under the Florida law, people must be tested if there’s a "reasonable suspicion" they’re drug abusers. Getting a psychological profile via a series of questions is the best way to find out if there’s a reasonable suspicion, officials said.
See
Michigan First State To Force Welfare Applicants To Pass Drug Tests;
DEA Spends $349,000 On Museum  -- NORML Press Release

Applicants are asked, for example, if they have never felt sad over anything, if they are often resentful, if their life is uninteresting or if they are sometimes "no good for anything at all." Even though the individual questions seem innocuous, drug abusers usually answer them in similar patterns, officials said.

Results showing low percentages of drug abuse come as good news for Candace Moody, director of employer services for First Coast Workforce Development, which seeks jobs for people on welfare.

"There’s a stereotype about people on welfare, and we’re delighted the test results prove that wrong," Moody said. " . . . They’re not all drug abusers."

The results show that no one has refused the screenings or drug tests in Jacksonville. Four people who have tested positive have refused treatment.

"Many of the most serious drug users openly admit their problems," said Phyllis Cooper, assessment specialist for River Region Human Services, the agency handling the testing in Jacksonville.

"They’re sick and tired of being sick and tired," Cooper said.

The test results also show that, of the 1,364 applicants in the Jacksonville area, 123 have been referred to mental health counseling.

The message is that, more often than simply abusing drugs, people applying for cash assistance have trouble coping, Cooper said.

"Usually, when people apply for welfare, they’re not just concerned about getting a job," she said.

"They’re also worried about problems with their spouse or how they’re going to afford day care or how they’re going to catch the bus for work."