HEADLINE: Chattanooga hypnosis clinics were fronts for prostitution, police say
THE RECAP: On Wednesday, Chattanooga police raided Hypnosis for Power, a hypnosis treatment center business they say was used as a front for prostitution. Two women were arrested, one for prostitution and the other with promoting prostitution, along with a male client.
DREW’S VIEW: I’m going to go ahead and say what a lot of people already think about prostitution, but won’t say in polite company for fear of offending others: We should stop wasting time and money criminalizing prostitutes and their customers and legalize prostitution.
What was going on at Hypnosis for Power did nothing to harm anyone at all — except, perhaps, for the folks who actually thought they were going to receive hypnotherapy. All of the people involved were consenting adults of legal age. There were no sex slaves or victims of human trafficking, there was apparently no violent pimp, and no one there was bound and gagged (at least no one who didn’t pay extra for that service).
Rather than wasting tax dollars every year on arresting, trying and imprisoning prostitutes and their clients, wouldn’t it be better for society in general, and sex workers in particular, to legalize prostitution? Prostitution could be regulated to ensure that prostitutes were in a safe environment and free of diseases. It could also be taxed, turning prostitution from a drain on taxpayers into a benefit.