To no one's surprise, Tennessee' drug testing for welfare program is still a monumental waste of time and money that has uncovered a virtually non-existent rate of drug use among the poor.
The latest numbers from the Tennessee Department of Human Services show less than 1 percent of applicants have tested positive.
Just 65 of 39,121 people applying for a cash assistance program known as Families First in Tennessee tested positive for illegal substances or drugs for which they had no prescription since the law was implemented July 1, 2014, according to data provided by the Department of Human Services to The Tennessean
Finding 65 users out of over 39,000 applicants sounds bad, but it's actually worse than that.
Those numbers covered the first full year of the screening system. Just 468 of more than 28,000 applicants were tested, and only 55 failed. In another six months of tests and questionnaires, Tennessee caught only 10 additional drug users among the 141 additional people whose bodily fluids it solicited.
Over the last six months, they only found 10 users.
Tennessee state Representative Glen Casada (R) reportedly told The Tennessean that he believes the drug-testing program has been a "good investment" for the state which has prevented drug users from funding their bad habit "at the largesse of taxpayers."
The average cash assistance available under the program is just $165 per month which is barely enough to eat. So much for "largesse."
I don't recommend consulting Rep. Casada for investment advice.
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