Mississippi Republicans are following in the footsteps of many Republican lawmakers before them in trying to tie drug testing to federal assistance. A bill passed the state House earlier this year and the state Senate last week — and Republican Gov. Phil Bryant promptly signed it into law.
This is a huge mistake. I say that as someone who’s suspicious of welfare programs and sympathetic to conservatives’ big-government concerns.
Similar legislation has passed elsewhere and is being considered in half the states; it’s also been struck down in federal courts. Whether Mississippi or other states will be able to overcome the legal arguments is anyone's guess.