Preliminary figures compiled under a new state law requiring drug tests for welfare applicants show that they are less likely than other people to use drugs, not more. The results have prompted Carl Hiaasen, the Florida columnist and author, to suggest that the people who came up with the law should be the ones submitting specimens. Mr. Hiaasen, saying “there is a certain public interest in going after hypocrisy,” has offered to pay for drug testing for all 160 members of the Florida Legislature. The figures show that about 2.5 percent of up to 2,000 applicants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families have tested positive since the law went into effect in July. An additional 2 percent declined to take the test. The Justice Department estimates that 6 percent of Americans 12 and older use illegal drugs. Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, and other supporters of the law say the tests will save money by weeding out people who would use welfare money to buy drugs.