There has been an ongoing controversy over whether welfare recipients should undergo drug testing. Drug testing will ensure that recipients do not misuse the money they receive from the government. Having people on welfare take drug tests is beneficial because it could save the system money, help social workers identify children who are close to drug abuse, and discourage people from buying and using illegal drugs ; however, it does have a downside, such as people taking prescription drugs will show false positives, it can be an invasion of privacy, and drug tests can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars to administer. Drug testing of people receiving welfare is useful because those who take drugs would no longer receive welfare allowing the system to save money. (Carpenter 1) With more than billions of dollars in government funds potentially ending up in the wrong places or spent on treating drug addictions, the least you can do is make sure the money is put into the right hands. “Every dollar that goes to a welfare recipient's drug addiction is a dollar lost to a family that would have spent it on needed goods.” (Vitter 2) Taxpayers' money should not be spent on treating drug habits. (1) Some states are forced to restrict welfare eligibility to accommodate limited state budgets. It would be better for drug testing to inform the government about who is abusing the system. Drug tests can waste up to hundreds or perhaps thousands per month on medications; not only is it dangerous to their well-being, but it also harms the economy as we accumulate more and more debt. Once a state passes a drug testing law, it sends a message to other states, and it makes sense for other states to pass the same law. this... half the paper... on drug testing. With so many people involved in this situation, this will ensure the governments decision. Now it's up to government officials to make the right decision and forget about drug testing welfare recipients. Works Cited Carpenter, Rachel. Should welfare or public assistance recipients be drug tested? April 28, 2010.Web. January 8, 2014.Magoon, Kekla. The debate on welfare. Edina: ABDO Publishing House. 2009. Print. Should welfare recipients be subjected to drug testing? US News & World Report. 2014: Pages 1-2.Magazine.Vitter, David. Should welfare recipients be subjected to drug testing? December 15, 2011. Web. January 15, 2014. Walters, Jonathan. Should welfare recipients undergo drug testing? March 13, 2012. Web. January 8, 2014Welfare recipients are actually most likely white and less likely than the average American to use drugs. 11 August 2013. Web. 15 January. 2014.