Legalizing pot worked; let’s legalize sex work in WA, too

In 2012, Washington voters decided to go where no other state ever had. They, along with voters in Colorado, legalized recreational marijuana and sale for adult use. In Washington, the vote reversed 70 years of policy that by most measures was a waste of time and money. The prohibition of marijuana consumption had virtually no effect on its price, availability or use, and yet, in that same time period, we taxpayers had to foot the bill for enforcement and incarceration.

For many — like me — the vote to legalize marijuana was not a vote to endorse its use. It was a vote to act in a pragmatic manner. Simply put, a lot of the “yes” votes came from people tired of appeasing moralists or business interests — like private prisons — that benefited from cannabis prohibition.

It’s time we took the same approach with prostitution.

Like marijuana, the sex business has been around for eons. It’s called “the world’s oldest profession” for a reason, and no amount of policing or moralizing is going to change that fact. And, like the previously illegal marijuana trade, prostitution is largely a “victimless crime” in that both the seller and buyer engage in the activity willingly and without any direct negative consequences to others.

By keeping the sex trade illegal, we fuel criminal gangs, waste tax dollars and squander police time. Sex workers, who in some cases are abused and held against their will under the current status of the business, deserve better. People who want to engage in the business should be registered, licensed and allowed to work and pay taxes like the rest of society.

With legalization, pimps would largely disappear — just like street corner pot dealers have in recent years — and the state would turn a fiscal negative into a positive. One more victimless crime would suddenly become a thing of the past, and we Washingtonians would again lead the country in how we deal with a business that might be offensive to some, but a legitimate source of employment and income to others.

We’d need inspectors, and a licensing agency. We’d also have to create rules and regulations that ensured safe sex was practiced, and that the brothels were clean, well maintained, and away from schools and sensitive areas (just like pot shops that must be at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks and other places where children congregate). And, just like pot shops, the businesses should have to demand valid photo ID, have front door security, and only allow adults to buy or sell the product. We can do this. With cannabis, we’ve proven that we can make legalization work, and we should now do the same thing with the sex trade.

A 2007 report from the U.S. Department of Justice estimated Seattle’s illegal sex trade was a $112 million business annually, significantly more than drugs ($87 million) or guns ($60 million) at that time. More recent studies estimate there are about 1 million sex workers in the United States, generating $14 billion a year. Looking at this issue from a practical perspective, rather than a moralistic one, it should be easy to recognize the value of easing the strain on law enforcement and the health care system, while simultaneously reducing the potential for sex trafficking and child sex abuse.

One final thought: Gary L. Ridgway, aka The Green River Killer, believed to be America’s most prolific serial killer, picked up many of his victims at night, on the street, while they were looking for customers. I’m willing to bet that if those women had been practicing their profession in licensed brothels and not on the street or in dark alleys, the story would have been quite different.

By Greg James

Special to The Seattle Times

Published March 15, 2024 on portal seattletimes.com