Northern California County Voters on Track to Approve Drug Testing Welfare Recipients

San Joaquin County voters are on track to approve ballot Measure R, which would require those who receive benefits from the county to submit to drug screening and potentially treatment. Seniors over the age of 65, as well as those with dependent children, would be exempted.
“This ordinance is intended to help address the overdose epidemic by requiring individuals who receive assistance through the General Assistance program, and who have been professionally evaluated and determined to need treatment, to participate in drug abuse treatment programs,” Measure R’s text reads.
State law requires all counties in California to fund and administer programs that provide aid and support to extremely poor single adults.
In 2024, general assistance recipients in San Joaquin County receive no more than $75 per month issued via an EBT card or $367 per month for those who live in single-room low-cost housing, with $340 paid directly to the recipient’s landlord.
“Addiction is complicated and there are no easy paths, but fentanyl is so deadly that we need more tools to get people into treatment,” Mayor London Breed posted on March 6 on X.
Payments in the Bay Area city average $712 per month for housed recipients and about $109 monthly for the homeless, according to the text of Proposition F.
Participating in treatment programs is mandatory, but, like San Joaquin’s proposal, stopping the use of drugs is not.
“Although reasonable participation in treatment programs will be required, sobriety of participants will not be,” Prop F reads. “Perfection isn’t the goal; improved health and life outcomes is.”
Critics say that without more intervention, drug users are unlikely to change their habits.
The San Francisco measure takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025.