Delegates advocate for ending food stamp ban for felony drug offenders

By TAYLOR STUCK The Herald-Dispatch tstuck@heralddispatch.com Jan 19, 2019 Updated 2 hrs ago

CHARLESTON — Currently in West Virginia, a person convicted of mass murder could receive food assistance from the state if he or she is released from prison, but a felony drug conviction comes with a lifetime ban.

Legislators hope to make that more fair and hopefully give those who served their time a better second chance by repealing that ban.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a federal program. Funds are distributed to states to be distributed to beneficiaries.

The lifetime ban on felony drug convicts is a federal law, but states can exempt themselves from the ban. West Virginia, Mississippi and South Carolina are the only states to still enforce the ban.

The ban was enacted in the '90s during the height of the "War on Drugs."

-snip-