In North Carolina, welfare applicants were tested for drugs on February 9, 2016 when the bill was passed after being overruled by the state legislature. Despite what most people believed would be the outcome of the results of the drug test, many were pleasantly surprised at the results.
Social workers asked welfare applicants of their drug use, and any suspicion the workers had of prior drug use within the last three years had the applicants tested. Less than one percent of those who applied for welfare tested positive for illegal drugs in their system.
This means that those not on welfare in North Carolina are 26 times more likely to use drugs than those on welfare. However, those few out of the 7,600 people that tested positive for illegal drugs had to pay the $55 for the test and were declined for welfare benefits.
The results of the test supported governor Pat McCrory’s belief that the test was a waste of the state’s money and was the main reason the governor vetoed the bill in the first place.
So in the end, the whole process was a waste of time and money for the state of North Carolina and may be a valuable lesson for other states that may follow in North Carolina’s footsteps.