It is pretty clear that the 80-year-long legal prohibition against cannabis is coming to an end in the US. It may take another election-cycle or two, but I don't know of any political observer who does not regard the full legalization of marijuana as inevitable or nearly so.What about sex-work? My thoughts:In some ways, the marijuana ban was more entrenched. Three years ago, the only countries where weed was legal were the Netherlands, Uruguay, South Africa, and (for some reason) North Korea. Canada and soon the US are blazing a trail (uh, pun not really intended). In contrast, US prostitution laws are far more stringent than those of any other industrialized democracy, and of any other country in the Americas. It's relatively easy to argue for loosening of such laws by pointing to lack of problems caused by the industry in familiar countries like Great Britain and Germany.Also, unlike marijuana, there is no Federal prohibition on prostitution. Each state is free on its own to change its laws. Right now, only Nevada — a remote state with an economy geared towards tourism — allows prostitution, but that could easily be changed.California is probably the most promising state for ending criminalization in the next few years. San Francisco saw an attempt in 2008, Proposition K, to end enforcement of prostitution laws, which failed 60%-40%, but that can be seen as a parallel to Proposition 19, the unsuccessful 2010 initiative to legalize marijuana, that was a forerunner to the successful Prop 64 six years later.The ban on prostitution raises Constitutional, moral, and evidentiary questions that the ban on marijuana just does not. US courts recognize that people have a right to have sex; there is no equivalent right to take recreational drugs.On the downside, there is a powerful stigma against prostitution. Even when it was unlawful, many people would proudly proclaim their fondness for marijuana. No one does that about hookers. Movies center around lovable stoners who wanted only to get high together. There are few movies that portray prostitution itself as desirable or pleasant. Even movies that depict sex-workers positively, such as Pretty Woman and Night Shift, show the work itself as something to be escaped.Unlike marijuana, sex-work is attacked from both the Right and the Left, because (to put it in a simplified but still accurate way), the Right hates sex and the Left hates work.California's experience with cannabis legalization has shown that sex-worker advocates who make fine-grained, niggling distinctions between "legalization" and "decriminalization" are totally and completely right. Marijuana legalization has led to less than a tenth of the expected number of dispensaries, because local officials use their powers under Prop 64 to extort money and political influence. If prostitution is legalized the same way, police and politicians will be extorting money, political influence... and sex — making the situation arguably worse than it is now.Overall, I would bet even money that within 10 years, prostitution will be lawful in at least one large US state. th_veteran
