The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

March 25, 2009

Ex-addict admits using food stamps to get drugs

By Mannix Porterfield

Welfare recipient Brian Caldwell acknowledged Wednesday he often swapped food stamps for drugs and suggested most on public assistance still engage in the shady practice.

Caldwell appeared at a news conference with Delegate Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, in support of his controversial bill to conduct random drug testing of folks living on the dole.

“Some are criticizing this bill, saying it makes the statement if you receive these types of benefits you use drugs,” the St. Albans man said.

“In my experience, the majority of these people do. This bill could help children that are living in a home where this is taking place to get their parents back.”

Caldwell and his wife, Mitzi, also told reporters anyone on food stamps can let a drug dealer use his card in exchange for illegal narcotics, and no merchant is the wiser.

“Definitely,” Mitzi Caldwell said. “You can take anybody’s card into any grocery store or Go Mart or Wal-Mart, whatever. The only thing it has is your name on it. And they don’t even ask for nothing. You just swipe the card, put in your PIN, and go.”

Her husband added, “As long as you have the PIN number, you can use the card.”

Delegate Tom Louisos, D-Fayette, the lone Democrat co-sponsor of Blair’s bill, has offered a bill of his own requiring that food stamp recipients be issued a card with a photo ID so no trading can occur.

Caldwell said he ingested “pretty much anything I could get my hands on” in his drug abuse days, but came clean from them and alcohol as well three years ago.

“My wife has been clean from drugs for over nine years and alcohol for a little more than two years,” he said.

Caldwell said his drug usage cost him custody of five children from a previous marriage.

Now studying electronics, computers and communications, Caldwell said the Blair bill, had it been law years ago, “definitely would have helped me go the right way.” Caldwell said he and his wife, likewise a college student, continue to collect cash assistance and food stamps.

Ultimately, Caldwell said he made his break through a rehabilitation program run by the Department of Health and Human Resources.

Caldwell confirmed his endorsement of Blair’s bill was entirely voluntarily and unsolicited.

Meantime, the Rev. Dennis Sparks, head of the West Virginia Council of Churches, denounced the bill, still wedged in the House Judiciary Committee.

“We believe it’s discriminatory against low-income working people, people that would go on unemployment benefits,” Sparks said.

Blair’s bill calls for random testing of anyone getting a welfare check, food stamps or jobless benefits.

“All of us are basically not very far away from our pink slip during these times,” Sparks said. “It could happen to anybody.”

Sparks termed Blair’s approach as one that unfairly goes after the working poor and said there is no evidence their potential to abuse drugs is higher than other segments of society.

“You could probably argue it the other way — most of the people who have upper middle class dollars and drive big cars, they’re the ones you see driving in the poor communities to buy drugs,” he said.

“Why should we target the low-income folks? It’s a typical discrimination in our society that says we’re going to blame our problems on the people who have less power and less income.”

Blair said his measure is intended to cut across the board, possibly, as an example, testing a bank employee who earned $100,000 before a layoff and then used public assistance to purchase illegal drugs.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

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