Mandatory drug testing for unemployment benefits and TANF is costly and ineffective

These bills are illegal and unconstitutional. Prior to 2011, the only state to pass such a law was Michigan. That law was struck down in 2003 by a federal appeals court. The court upheld a 2000 decision by a U.S. District Court judge that mandatory, suspicionless drug testing for public assistance violates the 4th Amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure, and is unnecessary, given the existence of more effective and less invasive means of detecting drug abuse.

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