drug testing welfare recipients

some states in the u.s. have instituted mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients, presumably to cut down on the amount that the states spend by removing drug abusers from the welfare rolls. the average percentage of drug users in the u.s. is 9.4% at the time of this writing. of the states that have tried testing welfare recipients, here are how many tested positive, along with how much it cost per test in each state:

· arizona – 3 out of 142,424 (0.0021%) – cost to test each applicant: $26.27
· florida – 108 out of 4,086 (2.6432%) – cost to test each applicant: $28.91
· kansas – 11 out of 2,783 (0.3953%) – cost to test each applicant: $615.38
· mississippi: 2 out of 3,656 (0.0547%) – cost to test each applicant: $43.00
· missouri – 48 out of 38,970 (0.1232%) – cost to test each applicant: $8.63
· oklahoma – 297 out of 3,342 (8.8900%) – cost to test each applicant: $55.42
· tennessee – 37 out of 16,017 (0.2310%) – cost to test each applicant: $18.98
· utah – 29 out of 9,552 (0.3036%) – cost to test each applicant: $6.70


if you’re thinking that it actually cost the states more to test the welfare recipients than they saved – a lot more – you are correct. (if you think that testing contractors are making a killing in a couple of these states, you're right about that, too. and why is oklahoma so far out of the loop, yet still below the national average?)

a federal judge ruled that drug testing welfare recipients was a violation of the 4th amendment, but it keeps coming up.