Running head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1

Annotated Bibliography: Should Welfare Applicants Be Drug Tested?

Name

Instructor

Course

Institutional Affiliation

Date
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2

Heyman, G. (2017). Do addicts have free will? An empirical approach to a vexing

question. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 5, 85-93. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2017.02.001

In this article, the author addressed two key issues; whether drug addicts have the

capacity to quit drugs voluntarily. In addition, the author looked at whether people knowingly

pursue courses of action that they know are bad for them, for example, illegal drug use. Using

testable versions of free will, the author found that dependence usually ends after approximately

4 to 6 years. Also, it was found that people who smoke and use heroin can voluntarily quit or

regulate their drug undying desire for such drugs. Therefore, it is possible for an individual to

quit using illegal drugs and regulate their desires. This article will help in arguing that welfare

recipients who are already dependent on drugs can actually quit using such drugs, pass the

random drug tests and continue benefiting from welfare.

Jayakody, R., Danziger, S., & Pollack, H. (2000). Welfare Reform, Substance Use, and

Mental Health. Journal Of Health Politics, Policy And Law, 25(4), 623-652. doi:

10.1215/03616878-25-4-623

The article helps in understanding what welfare is and the initial intended purpose of the

program. For example, the authors note that policy makers continue to question why welfare

recipients have failed to transition from welfare to work. While welfare programs lift millions of

Americans out of poverty, most recipients cannot still take care of themselves and never want to

move up after welfare. The authors look at some of the things that reduce employability of

welfare recipients. They found that there is a significant relationship between substance abuse

and welfare receipt. This article will help us explain the reasoning behind requiring mandatory

drug testing among welfare recipients and screening for welfare applicants. It is argued that drug

abuse is a significant barrier to self-sufficiency among welfare recipients.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 3

Lovegrove, J. (2017). Trump signs Cruz-Brady bill to expand drug testing of

unemployment benefit applicants | Politics | Dallas News. Retrieved from

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/03/31/trump-signs-cruz-brady-bill-

expand-drug-testing-unemployment-benefit-applicants

Lovegrove (2017) looks at the Cruz-Brady Bill that was signed into law by President

Trump requiring that applicants for unemployment benefits be drug tested. The article explains

the reasoning behind this bill as well as the process that it took before it was signed into law. As

such, the article is a great source of offering us a background to this issue as well as some

arguments for mandatory drug testing of welfare recipients. One key argument taken from this

article is that drug testing will end up helping applicants for and recipients of unemployment

benefits in the long run. As such, it is a good source of information in regard to this issue.

Pollack, H., Danziger, S., Seefeldt, K., & Jayakody, R. (2002). Substance Use among

Welfare Recipients: Trends and Policy Responses. Social Service Review, 76(2), 256-

274. doi: 10.1086/339669

The article looks at the trends in substance use among welfare recipients, especially AFDC and

TANF recipients. The authors put forth that drug use by welfare applicants and recipients

is an often mentioned key barrier to the well-being and social performance. Additionally,

the authors looked at the prevalence of substance dependence within the welfare

population. Hence, it was a great source to use to help share the statistics relating to the

prevalence of substance use among welfare recipients. The study found that “almost 20

percent of welfare recipients report recent use of some illicit drug during the year.”

Added to being a peer reviewed article, the source was a credible source to use to help

further argue for mandatory drug testing of applicants and recipients.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 4

Laudet, A., Becker, J., & White, W. (2009). Don't Wanna Go Through That Madness No

More: Quality of Life Satisfaction as Predictor of Sustained Remission from Illicit

Drug Misuse. Substance Use & Misuse, 44(2), 227-252. doi:

10.1080/10826080802714462

The article helped fortify the arguments by Heyman (2017). They authors argued that

people who have developed clinical dependence on illegal drugs often reported looking for help

because they were fed up with the state they were in. As such, this article helps in refuting the

claim that requiring welfare recipients be tested for drug use will make people to continue living

in poverty or shy away from asking for public assistance. On the contrary, addicts never seek

treatment or are never motivated to change unless they see a reason to do so. Therefore, this

article helps support the idea that mandatory and random drug testing of welfare recipients will

actually make addicts change for the better.