This Article explores recent attempts on the part of state legislatures to require that recipients of public assistance undergo drug testing. In evaluating this prevalent legislative trend, the Article first assesses the constitutionality of laws requiring the testing of all applicants for public assistance. This examination begins by parsing the Supreme Court's Fourth Amendment" special needs" jurisprudence as it relates to drug testing before proceeding to scrutinize the only federal opinions to consider a law requiring the drug testing of welfare recipients. The Article argues that Supreme Court precedent renders suspicionless drug testing of welfare recipients unconstitutional. The Article next determines that laws requiring the formation of" reasonable suspicion" before drug testing may be imposed are facially constitutional, though likely ineffective and vulnerable to as-applied challenges. Finally, the Article challenges the justifications offered by proponents of these laws, concluding that drug testing welfare recipients would be a costly and futile venture.