Statement on Proposed Trump Administration Rule to Require Drug Testing in Order to Receive Unemployment Benefits

August 15, 2019 – New York, NY – Below is a statement from Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, in response to an attempt by the Trump Administration to require drug testing in order to receive unemployment benefits:

“This latest push to require people seeking unemployment benefits to undergo drug testing is invasive, cruel, and senseless. It will only compound the problems of people who are already struggling economically. Politicians have long used drugs as an excuse to stigmatize and punish already low-income people and communities of color; this Trump administration move is taken squarely from that playbook.”