Drug Testing Proposed To Receive NM Unemployment Benefits

Smoking pot could soon turn from a bad habit to a costly habit.

A proposed bill in New Mexico would make it the law for the unemployed to pass a drug test to collect jobless benefits. But some argue that one has little to do with the other.

Senate Bill 263 is only being discussed right now, but if passed, it would strip unemployment dollars from those who fail or neglect to take a drug test. A measure some say is a violation of their rights.

?Yeah, that?s ridiculous,? Jonathon Winkler, an unemployed Las Cruces resident, said. ?It?s kind of an invasion of privacy.?

Being unemployed is tough enough, Winkler said, and he does not think he or anyone else should have to pay for a drug test to collect jobless benefits.

“How do you link drug use to unemployment?it’s not necessarily the case,” Winkler said.

Some agree, the correlation between the two is irrelevant.

“Just because they’re unemployed, I don’t think they should be treated like criminals or be under suspicion for taking drugs,? Ellis Catanach, who is against the proposed bill, said.

State Senator Tim Jennings of Roswell proposed the legislation that would require some 47,000 unemployed New Mexicans to pass a drug test to qualify for jobless benefits.

“I don’t think it really violates their act at all,? Jennings said.

If an unemployed individual fails a drug test, the person would have to wait another six-and-a-half months for an opportunity to reapply.

“All they have to do is get clean. I don’t think you have a right to do drugs, if they’re illegal, an illegal substance, I don’t think you have a right to do that,? Jennings said. ?I think it’s a responsibility issue.”

“Hopefully it would curb the use of them [drugs],” a Las Cruces resident in support the proposed bill, said.

Jennings said the measure would help preserve funds for those who really need it, instead of spending taxpayer dollars to support illegal habits.

“When you think about it, the people who are spending their money on drugs aren’t working because of that,? Jennings said. ?If someone chooses to be unemployed, they’re robbing from the benefits of those people who lost their job who were complying with all the requirements.”

“It absolutely shouldn’t be abused, and nothing else should be abused either that is public funds,” Henry Meyers, a Las Cruces resident who supports the new bill, said.

But some said, they only see the bill as a benefit to the state.

“I think it’s just a way to save money, to refuse unemployment to certain individuals so the government can continue making more and more,” Winkler said.

In the past, 16 other states have proposed similar legislation; but none have gone as far as passing it. Senator Jennings said, he is confident New Mexico could be the first to do so.