Imagine the situation: you apply for a job, smoke the interview and land the position.

Your employer then either administers a drug test or gives you a form to sign on which you agree to random drug testing. That company is paying you, so it drug tests to ensure that you and other employees are focused on work and are not taking illegal drugs.

So if someone receives unemployment benefits or public assistance from the government, shouldn’t they also undergo a drug test to make sure they won’t spend the money on drugs that weren’t prescribed to them?

Adina Solomon

That’s what Georgia House Bills 697 and 699 would accomplish. If passed, House Bill 697 would set up a random drug testing program for people who receive unemployment compensation. Recipients would need to do a test at least once a year to continue receiving benefits, according to the bill.

The passing of House Bill 699 would mandate drug testing for anyone 18 years old or older who receives state or federal public assistance provided by the Department of Human Services.

In his Jan. 25 column, Jonathan Rich asks if “random drug tests of the poor” is “really a sensible policy” [“Drug testing the impoverished won’t fix poverty,” Jan. 25].

The answer resounds as yes.

It’s only fair that people receiving help from the government should be subject to drug testing. Employers do it for employees, and the government should do it for recipients for the same reasons.

The government doesn’t want to fuel someone’s addiction or habit, especially if that person has children.

But Rich doesn’t seem to mind that. “Drugs are illegal, and nobody wants to see children raised in unstable home environments. But is it really the government’s business what an adult puts into their body in the privacy of their own home?” he asks.

Again, the answer is yes. Drugs are illegal, plain and simple. And just like any employer, if the government is providing money to someone, it should make sure the money is being spent on legal pursuits and necessities like food or clothing. Government money shouldn’t be used for drugs.

And if children are part of the equation, a drug test is even more warranted. Anyone who’s doing drugs shouldn’t be raising kids.

A parent who is addicted to drugs or even legal alcohol would create an “unstable home environment,” as Rich says. A drug test could result in the children being removed from an unstable parent’s home so they can have a substance-free childhood.

Children of addicts are also the highest risk group of children to become alcohol and drug abusers due to both genetic and family environment factors, according to the National Association for Children of Alcoholics.

Let’s not perpetuate that lifestyle for future generations by ignoring the problem. The passing of Georgia House Bills 697 and 699 will start to address it.

Rich says, “Lawmakers should help the impoverished improve their situation rather than punish them for their personal decisions.”

Drug abusers don’t need government money. They need rehabilitation. If someone fails a drug test, House Bill 699 mandates that the person will receive a list of “licensed substance abuse treatment providers” available in the surrounding area.

By giving drug tests, the government is aiding abusers to confront their problem.

With everything else going on in the United States, the government shouldn’t fritter away its funds to finance the habits of drug abusers.

Random drug testing of public assistance recipients is essential.

— Adina Solomon is a junior from Atlanta majoring in journalism