BAN ON DRUG TESTS FOR WELFARE RECIPIENTS UPHELD

In a decision released Wednesday, an evenly divided U.S. 6th Circuit Court
of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that invalidated the Michigan law
requiring drug testing of welfare recipients.

The effect of the ruling is to continue the status quo, as the law was never
fully implemented after a 1999 injunction issued by U.S. District Judge
Victoria Roberts.

Roberts was reversed by a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit last fall.
But the full court divided 6-6 on an appeal of that decision, thereby
reinstating the injunction.

Another appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is possible. But state officials
said Wednesday no decision on whether to pursue the case has been made.

Michigan lawmakers and former Gov. John Engler enacted the controversial
statute in 1998 in an effort to end what they called the cycle of dependency
for drug users. It would have required welfare applicants to undergo drug
testing and face the possible loss of benefits if they tested positive and
refused to enter treatment.

The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the policy as an unreasonable
intrusion on the privacy and dignity of people receiving government help.

Graham Boyd, the ACLU Drug Policy Litigation Project director, said
Wednesday that the ruling should "send a message to the rest of the nation
that drug testing programs like these are neither an appropriate or
effective use of a state's limited resources."

A spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm said no decision on an appeal to
the U.S. Supreme Court has been made.

Granholm was a critic of the policy early in her campaign for governor, but
said after last fall's court decision that she planned to implement it if
elected. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Boyd said Granholm supports drug testing for
welfare recipients when there is reasonable suspicion they have been using
drugs.

The Michigan law allows for blanket testing. According to the ACLU, when the
state implemented the policy on a pilot basis, 21 of 268 people tested
positive, all but three for marijuana.

That level of drug use is "consistent with drug use in the general
population," the ACLU said in a statement.

Attorney General Mike Cox also has the authority to seek an appeal, said
spokesman Sage Eastman. But the case is under review, he said.