How much you wanna bet that the state welfare agencies end up sending ALL drug testing requests directly to the clinics associated with Scott?
Aside from this clear conflict of interest by Governor Scott, it's also very clear that he doesn't understand at all the motivating power of having to provide for a child or a family.
Poverty is hellish. Drug use is a symptom of poverty because people often use drugs to escape - if only for a moment - the anguish, frustration and hopelessness of a life of poverty. By criminalizing drugs, users who are discovered, either by arrest or by drug testing, are instantly chained to a life in poverty as the doors to opportunity slam shut around them.
And Governor Scott has just contributed heavily to the vicious cycle of poverty and drug use. Worse, he's done so not for any altruistic or compassionate reason (his ridiculous rhetoric aside), but instead to line his pockets on the backs of those who will now be forced further into poverty as they struggle to find ways to feed themselves and their families.
Clearly, the Governor is woefully ignorant of the desperation that abject poverty creates in the minds and souls of those it afflicts. When a person has no traditional (spell that "legal") options to pursue to support themselves with, they turn to whatever they can to provide for the basic necessities needed in their lives. It's what often drives prostitution, and it definitely drives a large number of drug dealers, many of whom would have never considered the idea until they wound up with a criminal record or were barred from employment because of a "dirty" drug test.
Assisting those with substance use issues should NOT involve punitive measures. It does NO good whatsoever.
The answer here is to decriminalize drugs, funnel the obscene amount of money being spent on law enforcement into treatment and opportunity for advancement in job training and education, and then work with the individual to help them transition from poverty to productive citizen.I should know. Been there, done that and have the business suit to prove it....
Florida governor signs welfare drug-screen measure
June 01, 2011|By the CNN Wire Staff
Saying it is "unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction," Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday signed legislation requiring adults applying for welfare assistance to undergo drug screening.
"It's the right thing for taxpayers," Scott said after signing the measure. "It's the right thing for citizens of this state that need public assistance. We don't want to waste tax dollars. And also, we want to give people an incentive to not use drugs."
Under the law, which takes effect on July 1, the Florida Department of Children and Family Services will be required to conduct the drug tests on adults applying to the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The aid recipients would be responsible for the cost of the screening, which they would recoup in their assistance if they qualify. Those who fail the required drug testing may designate another individual to receive the benefits on behalf of their children.
Shortly after the bill was signed, five Democrats from the state's congressional delegation issued a joint statement attacking the legislation, one calling it "downright unconstitutional."
"Governor Scott's new drug testing law is not only an affront to families in need and detrimental to our nation's ongoing economic recovery, it is downright unconstitutional," said Rep. Alcee Hastings. "If Governor Scott wants to drug test recipients of TANF benefits, where does he draw the line? Are families receiving Medicaid, state emergency relief, or educational grants and loans next?"
Rep. Corrine Brown said the tests "represent an extreme and illegal invasion of personal privacy."
"Indeed, investigating people when there is probable cause to suspect they are abusing drugs is one thing," Brown said in the joint statement. "But these tests amount to strip searching our state's most vulnerable residents merely because they rely on the government for financial support during these difficult economic times."
Joining in the statement denouncing the measure were Democratic Reps. Kathy Castor, Ted Deutch and Frederica Wilson.
Controversy over the measure was heightened by Scott's past association with a company he co-founded that operates walk-in urgent care clinics in Florida and counts drug screening among the services it provides.
In April, Scott, who had transferred his ownership interest in Solantic Corp. to a trust in his wife's name, said the company would not contract for state business, according to local media reports. He subsequently sold his majority stake in the company, local media reported.
On May 18, the Florida Ethics Commission ruled that two conflict-of-interest complaints against Scott were legally insufficient to warrant investigation, and adopted an opinion that no "prohibited conflict of interest" existed.
Also on Tuesday, Scott also signed a measure outlawing hallucinogenic designer drugs known as "bath salts."
"The chemical substances found in 'bath salts' constitute a significant threat to health and public safety," the governor's office said in a statement. "Poison control centers in Florida have reported 61 calls of 'bath salts' abuse, making Florida the state with the second-highest volume of calls."
The drugs "are readily available at convenience stores, discount tobacco outlets, gas stations, pawnshops, tattoo parlors, and truck stops, among other locations," the governor's office said.
