The effort to cut suspected drug users off a temporary state welfare program has run into a wall of talk again….and goes nowhere in the state senate for a second day.

One opponent says the plan to drop drug users from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program might be morally right but it doesn’t do much to meet the state’s obligation to the user or the family. He and others are burning floor time by taking the bill apart section by section.

Senator Jolie Justus of Kansas City is one of those suggesting numerous flaws. And she says professionals in the field tell her it’s an impossible proposal. She says a person who works for the Jackson County Family Court has told her the bill “is so impossible to implement in terms of cost to the state that…it’s scary…they’re almost laughing at it.” Justus says, “We do not have the money to implement this.”

The bill says the drug user might lose benefits but other members of the family would continue receiving payments through a third party. Justus and others say that section is vague and impractical. The bill also says the drug user will be referred to a treatment program. Opponents say the bill should require treatment.

Listen to the day’s debate 33:22 mp3

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